Who has seen red light therapy on Instagram or TikTok recently? My algorithm is biased but I certainly have! Someone on Instagram posts a photo with a glowing red panel, usually fully clothed and very far away from the device claiming it changed their life. Then someone else responds: "That's pseudoscience. Red light therapy doesn't work." Well, my instant response would be if they are using it clothed and that far away then it is just marketing, if they are using properly, it certainly isn't pseudoscience.
Meanwhile, normal people, we are dealing with chronic knee pain that won't quit, or you're an athlete trying to recover faster, or you're just trying to get through another Norwegian winter without feeling completely flat. You see these videos and you're wondering: does this actually work, or is it just expensive placebo?
I get it. The wellness industry is full of noise. But here's the thing—red light therapy, or photobiomodulation (PBM), isn't some new trend cooked up by influencers. It's been studied in peer-reviewed medical research for decades. And the evidence? It's far stronger than most people realize.
So let's look at what the actual science says. Not what someone with 10,000 followers claims. Not what some skeptic dismisses without reading a single study. What do the randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses actually show?
Where Red Light Therapy Has Been Tested
Researchers have studied PBM across multiple medical fields. Here's a snapshot of what they've found:
| Subfield | Key Findings |
|---|---|
| Pain | Photobiomodulation significantly reduces pain and improves disability in patients with knee osteoarthritis, with moderate evidence from randomized trials. PBM shows promising results for shoulder and neck pain relief, enhancing functional improvements and quality of life in musculoskeletal conditions. PBM minimizes inflammation via near-infrared light, outperforming placebo in reducing pain during dental procedures and chronic inflammatory states. |
| Skin | PBM is effective for healing wound ulcers (e.g., decubitus and pressure sores) by promoting tissue repair and reducing inflammation across etiologies. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in PBM alter skin biology, improving outcomes for conditions like acne and aging through antibacterial and regenerative effects. Blue light variants accelerate wound closure in preclinical models by enhancing epithelialization and collagen deposition. |
| Sports Medicine | PBM provides high effect sizes in reducing pain intensity for ankle sprains, with moderate evidence supporting faster recovery in acute injuries. Pre-exercise PBM boosts muscle endurance and aids recovery from strength loss and injury markers (e.g., CK, LDH) in athletes. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) pre-exercise enhances muscle strength, endurance, and fatigue reduction, outperforming post-exercise application. |
| Neurology | PBM reduces beta-amyloid plaques and restores mitochondrial function in Alzheimer's models, with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. Transcranial PBM promotes neurogenesis by enhancing stem cell differentiation, showing potential for cognitive and motor recovery in neurodegenerative diseases. PBM emerges as a safe alternative for Alzheimer's treatment, improving symptoms without adverse effects in early clinical data. |
| Dentistry | Specific PBM protocols prevent oral mucositis (OM) in high-risk patients (e.g., cancer therapy), reducing incidence by up to 50% in targeted populations. PBM reduces pain and discomfort during dental injections, with systematic evidence for lower scores in both adults and children. Optimal PBM parameters enhance outcomes in peri-implantitis management, outperforming some non-surgical alternatives in network meta-analyses. |
| Veterinary Medicine | Multiwave locked system LLLT promotes wound healing in animals by stimulating cellular repair and reducing inflammation in musculoskeletal injuries. LLLT modulates growth factors and myogenic regulators, accelerating skeletal muscle repair and decreasing inflammatory markers in veterinary models. Combined with advanced dressings, LLLT yields positive results for chronic wounds in animals, though larger controlled studies are recommended. |
That's not a list of anecdotes. Those are findings from systematic reviews and meta-analyses—studies that pool together dozens or hundreds of individual trials to see what the overall pattern shows.
What the Numbers Actually Say
But findings are one thing. Efficacy is another. How well does red light therapy actually work in each of these areas? Here's what the research shows:
| Subfield | Evidence Level | Key Efficacy Metrics | Overall Efficacy Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain | Strong | 20–40% reduction in pain intensity (e.g., VAS scores) in musculoskeletal conditions like osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis. Significant disability improvement (SMD = -0.65) vs. placebo. | High (consistent meta-analytic support) | Broad applicability for chronic/acute pain; outperforms sham in 80%+ of trials. |
| Skin | Moderate-Strong | 30–50% faster wound closure in burns/ulcers; reduces radiation dermatitis incidence by 40%. Improves flap viability (up to 25% increase in survival rates). | High (for wound healing; moderate for aesthetics like hair loss) | Strongest for inflammatory/traumatic wounds; parameters (e.g., 1064 nm) optimize outcomes. |
| Sports Medicine | Strong | 15–30% enhancement in muscle endurance/performance; reduces fatigue markers (e.g., CK by 25%) post-exercise. High effect size (ES = 0.8–1.2) for recovery vs. cryotherapy. | High (pre/post-exercise protocols) | Recommended for athletes; consistent benefits in strength and DOMS reduction. |
| Neurology | Emerging | Reduces beta-amyloid/neuroinflammation in models (20–30% plaque reduction); modest motor/cognitive gains in Parkinsonism trials. Statistical significance in 33% of meta-analyzed studies. | Moderate (preclinical promise; limited clinical) | Neuroprotective potential high, but needs larger RCTs for neurodegenerative diseases. |
| Dentistry | Strong | 50–60% lower oral mucositis risk in cancer patients; 30–50% pain reduction post-injection/extraction. Accelerates tooth movement by 1.5–2x in orthodontics. | High (preventive and therapeutic) | Gold standard for oral complications; dose-specific protocols yield reliable results. |
| Veterinary Medicine | Moderate | 20–40% improvement in wound healing/muscle repair; reduces oxidative stress markers by 25–35% in injury models. Enhances mini-implant stability (OR = 2.1). | Moderate (animal models dominant) | Effective for surgical recovery; translates well from preclinical to clinical vet use. |
Let me translate what this means in plain language.
Pain: Strong Evidence, High Efficacy
If you've got chronic knee pain from osteoarthritis, the research shows red light therapy can reduce your pain by 20–40%. That's not a marginal improvement—that's the difference between struggling through your day and actually functioning. Over 80% of trials show it outperforms placebo.
For shoulder and neck pain—common among those of us who sit at desks or carry tension through the winter—the evidence shows similar improvements in both pain levels and functional movement. The mechanism? Near-infrared light penetrates deep into tissue, reducing inflammation at the cellular level.
This isn't "might help if you believe hard enough." This is consistent, reproducible, measurable improvement across multiple independent studies.
Sports Medicine: For Athletes and Weekend Warriors
Norway isn't a country of couch potatoes. We ski, we hike, we cycle, we push our bodies. And when you're active, recovery matters.
The research here is particularly strong. Pre-exercise red light therapy boosts muscle endurance by 15–30%. It reduces fatigue markers like creatine kinase by 25% after exercise. For ankle sprains—something plenty of us have experienced on a trail or a football pitch—PBM shows high effect sizes for faster recovery.
What's interesting is that the timing matters. Using red light before exercise appears to enhance strength and endurance more than using it afterward. But post-exercise use still helps with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and recovery markers.
If you're an athlete, or even just someone who wants to keep moving through winter without constant aches, this is evidence worth paying attention to.
Skin: Strongest for Healing, Promising for Everything Else
The evidence for wound healing is particularly robust. Burns, ulcers, pressure sores—red light therapy accelerates closure rates by 30–50%. That's significant for anyone recovering from surgery or dealing with chronic wounds.
For aesthetic concerns like acne or aging, the evidence is moderate but promising. LED-based red light changes skin biology through antibacterial effects and enhanced collagen production. It's not magic, but the biological mechanisms are well-understood.
Dentistry: Gold Standard Status
This one surprises people, but dentistry has some of the strongest evidence for red light therapy. Specific protocols reduce oral mucositis risk in cancer patients by 50–60%. If you've ever had dental pain or know someone going through cancer treatment, you understand how significant that is.
Pain during dental procedures drops by 30–50% with proper PBM protocols. The evidence works for both adults and children. Some dental applications of red light therapy have reached "gold standard" status in systematic reviews.
Neurology: Early Promise, More Research Needed
The evidence here is emerging rather than established. Preclinical studies show 20–30% reductions in beta-amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's. There's documented improvement in mitochondrial function and markers of neuroinflammation.
Human trials are still limited, but early clinical data shows safety and modest improvements in cognitive and motor function. This is an area where the biological mechanisms are compelling enough to warrant continued research, but I wouldn't make strong claims yet.
The rating here is "moderate"—promising but not proven at the same level as pain management or dental applications.
Why Do Some People Say It Doesn't Work?
If the evidence is this strong, why do you hear skeptics dismissing red light therapy entirely?
A few reasons:
Device quality varies wildly. Some consumer products don't deliver therapeutic wavelengths or adequate power. If someone tries a cheap panel that doesn't meet research parameters, they'll conclude "red light doesn't work" when really their device didn't work.
Expectations matter. Red light therapy isn't an instant cure. It works through gradual cellular changes over weeks. Someone expecting overnight transformation will be disappointed and vocal about it.
Not everyone reads the research. It's easier to dismiss something as pseudoscience than to dig through meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Skepticism can be lazy.
Financial interests. The wellness industry is crowded. Sometimes skepticism serves competition rather than truth. Think, how much traffic and conversation does a post like that spark, remember many are getting paid for interactions, so it is in their interest to be controversial.
But here's what matters: when researchers control for these variables—using calibrated devices at proper parameters in randomized trials—the results are consistent. Red light therapy works for specific applications, and the effect sizes are meaningful. Can we repeat those controls at home? Here in lies the issue, perhaps not. But does that mean we should disregard them completely - absolutely not. It is true that some interventions use high powers that are way beyond the scope of what home devices can manage. However, many do not! I have discussed on other posts and blogs, the difference between laser and LED, how once the photon enters the tissue it behaves relatively similar whether from a laser or an LED and wavelength matters. The truth is that LEDs have shown many times that they offer similar results to lasers and the irradiance values of good quality devices can get you the irradiance that you want when trying to replicate the study protocol, or at least make a home made version of it.
An example is my Mega torch which has strong irradiance and great wavelengths for deep penetration: https://lighttherapy.no/products/therapy-torch?variant=42224523313257
What This Means for You
I test every device I sell. I measure the spectrum with my own equipment. I've used red light therapy through many Norwegian winters, and I know the difference it makes in my own recovery, sleep, and energy.
So when someone tells you red light therapy doesn't work, ask them: have they read the systematic reviews? Do they understand the difference between a quality device and a cheap knockoff? Have they considered that decades of peer-reviewed research might know more than their Instagram opinion?
You don't have to take my word for it. The tables above show what independent researchers have found across thousands of patients and hundreds of studies.
If you're dealing with chronic pain, trying to recover from sports injuries, managing skin conditions, or just trying to maintain your health through another dark Norwegian winter—red light therapy has evidence behind it. Real evidence. The kind published in medical journals and reviewed by people whose careers depend on getting it right - not only that, check the reviews of people that are very happy with their red light therapy device from my company.
So try not get sucked into it. Do it, not because influencers endorse it. Not because it's trendy. Because science, when you actually look at it, is surprisingly robust and thousands of people have had tremendous results..
— Dominic Lamb, Home Light Therapy