Red Light Therapy: Uses, Benefits, and Risks

Red light therapy uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to treat medical and cosmetic conditions.

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A red light therapy device sends low-intensity red and near-infrared light deep into the body’s cells to promote healing. Red light therapy is noninvasive, painless, and does not use heat.

This article will cover how red light therapy works, what it’s used for, what the evidence says about its potential benefits, the possible side effects and risks, and how much red light therapy treatment costs.

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How Does Red Light Therapy Work?

Red light therapy uses low-power red light to activate the cell’s energy generators (mitochondria). Most of the energy made by the mitochondria is housed in a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which helps your body store and use energy.

Aging, illness, or lifestyle factors can make the mitochondria produce less ATP. Red light therapy triggers a reaction that helps reverse the decline.

People who support red light therapy claim that the treatment will help repair tissue as well as relieve pain and inflammation.

Who Invented Red Light Therapy?

Hungarian physician and professor Endre Mester first used low-level laser therapy in 1967 while studying how cancer cells react to radiation exposure.

For his mouse studies, he would shave the mice before doing surgery. While it wasn’t the goal of his research, he noticed that the mice who had gotten laser therapy at the site of the surgery had their hair grow back faster and their wounds heal quicker than the other mice who hadn’t had laser exposure.

In the early 1970s, he started using the therapy to treat patients with skin ulcers that would not heal.

Why Red Light?

Red light therapy uses light in the red or near-infrared region because this wavelength range is the best at getting through tissue. It is also more easily absorbed by the parts of cells that capture light energy.

More Research Is Needed

Research evidence supporting red light therapy is limited by small sample sizes, animal subjects or in vitro studies (using a test tube or petri dish in a lab instead of humans), and inconsistent standards. However, more studies are being done to explore the possible benefits of red light therapy.

Types of Red Light Therapy

Red light has been used for a variety of reasons, including in the treatment of skin, dental, and inflammatory conditions.

Red light therapy goes by several names, including:

• Photobiomodulation

  or photobiomodulation therapy
• Low-level laser light therapy (LLLT)
• Low-power laser therapy (LPLT)
• Cold laser therapy

• Biostimulation

• Photonic

  stimulation
• Soft laser therapy

How Is Red Light Therapy Used?

Red light therapy can also be part of photodynamic therapy in which it activates an agent to help the skin absorb more light.

Skin Conditions and General Skin Health

Red light therapy is a popular option for treating redness, scars, acne, and wrinkles.

The potential for skin health benefits is said to be because of how the light affects collagen production and blood circulation in skin tissue.

• Antiaging. Red light therapy is used to enhance the appearance of skin that has been damaged or aged by sunlight. It may stimulate the rapid production of cells that make collagen proteins, which lift and tighten lax skin, reducing wrinkles.
• Acne. Cold laser therapy could be an effective treatment for acne vulgaris, but there is not enough evidence to say for sure that it helps. The light might decrease inflammation, irritation, and sebum production in the skin.
• Hair growth. Low-level laser light therapy may help treat pattern hair loss, but more research is needed.
• Wound healing. Red light therapy has the potential to help heal chronic wounds. The technique might encourage new skin growth and help new blood vessel networks form.

Dental Pain

Dental professionals may use red light therapy to help with different oral health conditions.

The treatment can reduce pain, inflammation, and ulcers. It may also help keep unhealthy oral microbes in check.

The following treatments make use of red light therapy for oral health:

• Temporomandibular dysfunction

  (TMD). TMD causes discomfort and clicking in the jaw, as well as limited jaw movement. Red light therapy may relieve pain, increase range of motion, and improve muscle activity in people with this condition.

• Periodontitis

  . Red light therapy can help treat periodontitis, a chronic buildup of dental plaque bacteria. Along with photodynamic therapy, the procedure may help reduce the bacteria associated with this type of buildup.
• Burning mouth syndrome, One study found that low-light laser therapy helped decrease symptoms in postmenopausal women with burning sensations in the mouth.
• Stomatitis. Minor recurrent

  aphthous stomatitis

  (MiRAS) causes painful lesions on the lips, soft palate, and the lining of the cheeks. In a 2020 study of children aged 5 to 12 years old, red light therapy reduced pain and the size of MiRAS ulcers within two weeks.

Inflammation

Red or near-infrared light encourages cells to make antioxidants faster and lower inflammatory markers. Soft laser therapy can increase circulation to help relieve inflammatory conditions without drugs or surgery, including:

• Osteoarthritis

  . Several studies have found that red light therapy can reduce pain and disability in people with knee osteoarthritis. The benefits extended up to 12 weeks after the end of treatment.

• Tendinitis

  . Pre-exercise red light therapy might improve sports performance and speed recovery from muscle strain. The treatment may have the potential to combat the oxidative stress caused by exercise.

• Psoriasis

  . Cold laser therapy is a common treatment for mild to moderate psoriasis, an autoimmune inflammatory skin condition. However, different light sources are needed for each type of psoriasis. It’s important to use the right light source for the treatment to be effective and to avoid skin burning or other side effects.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome. In one study, low-level laser therapy helped reduce carpal tunnel syndrome pain in the hands and enhanced electrical activity in the median nerve.

Other Conditions

Red light therapy is said to support the body's natural healing process. Other conditions that red light therapy might help include:

• Herpes cold sores prevention. Red light therapy may help prevent and treat recurrent cold sores (a common infection caused by the herpes simplex virus). However, more studies are needed to confirm the benefit.
• Alzheimer’s disease. Formaldehyde concentrations in the brain are associated with oxidative stress and memory loss. Research has suggested that red light therapy can break down formaldehyde and potentially improve cognitive function in adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
• Anxiety. In a 2019 study, brain stimulation with red light helped improve anxiety symptoms in people with generalized anxiety disorder. The participants were also able to sleep better after treatment.

Does Red Light Therapy Actually Work?

While people commonly use red light therapy to treat other conditions, there is not enough research evidence to suggest there are benefits.

• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). A 2019 review determined that there is not enough evidence to support using red light therapy as a treatment for seasonal affective disorder.
• Weight loss. No reliable studies support any weight loss benefits of red light therapy. However, limited research has shown that the treatment may help reduce waist circumference.
• Low back pain. In several controlled trials, red light therapy did