How Red Light Therapy Helps Reduce Pain & Inflammation

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How Red Light Therapy Helps Reduce Pain and Inflammation

Written by Infralight Team

Published on March 4, 2025

Let’s be real: pain sucks. Inflammation? Even worse. Whether you’re hobbling after leg day, groaning with stiff joints, or wincing through a painful knee, it ruins your mood and messes your entire day. For most people, it’s just part of life. Fun, right? Sure, you could pop some ibuprofen or get that sketchy cortisone shot again, but side effects? Yeah, not great. That’s where Red Light Therapy comes in. It’s non-invasive, has zero side effects, and turbocharges your body's own natural healing process.

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Why Inflammation & Pain Even Happen:

Pain is pretty much the body's way of saying “Hey, something’s not right here!” You twist your ankle? Boom, instant pain. That’s called acute pain, AKA short lived, kind of like a fire alarm sounding and then shutting off. But then you have chronic pain, which just hangs around like a bad smell. Conditions like arthritis or nerve damage can keep you in pain or a long time. Inflammation is your body’s go-to move when something goes wrong; it's a natural response to things like infection or an injury. It’s like sending in the SWAT team in the body: you get redness, swelling, heat, and, yep, more pain. Sometimes, inflammation is actually what saves you, like when you get a cut and your body’s fighting off germs. But if it sticks around too long, things start to get messy. Chronic inflammation is the troublemaker that can cause problems like damaging your tissues and keep you in that annoying pain loop. Not fun.

How does Red Light Therapy Work for inflammation?

So, RLT (or if you wanna sound smart, photobiomodulation) is all about using low level red light and near infrared light. You don’t get a sunburn, and you don’t cook yourself. These wavelengths sneak past your skin and nudge your cells to get their act together, all without frying anything. Here's how it works for pain and inflammation: It’s all about mitochondria. Remember that from high school? Yeah, the “powerhouse” of the cell and all that good stuff. RLT gives mitochondria a kick up the butt, allowing it to crank up ATP (what your cell uses for energy). More ATP means your cells heal faster and fight each other less (less inflammation). Some more benefits include:

1. Calms down the fire at the source

RLT basically tells these proteins called cytokines (these annoying little guys that love to stir up inflammation) to chill out, while boosting the good guys that help ramp it down. Translation: less swelling, less stiffness, and that nagging ache in your knee or back gets way more manageable.

2. Gets your blood pumping

You know how your body feels sluggish after sitting too long? RLT gives your circulation a jumpstart by getting nitric oxide flowing through your body and opening up your blood vessels. More blood rushing in means damaged spots get a fresh delivery of oxygen and nutrients, and all the junk, cellular waste and toxins get moved out quicker. Think of it like a cleanup crew for your muscles and joints.

3. Releases endorphins

Red light therapy doesn't just fix things up, it also helps you feel better while you heal. It gets your body pumping out endorphins (nature’s own painkillers) and eases your pain signals, so your brain isn’t screaming about every ache and twinge. Whether it’s old injuries, nerve pain, or just plain muscle soreness, things start feeling a whole lot more bearable. I’s like giving your body a cheat code for recovery.

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A Few Things Red Light Therapy Can Help:

1. Arthritis

If your joints creak like a haunted house, RLT can help reduce the inflammation and repair cartilage. It's been shown to help both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Some of our customers have even said they move better after a few sessions. That's right, increased mobility, decreased pain - after a little bit of at home Red Light Therapy.

2. Muscle Recovery

You know that “I can't walk down stairs” feeling after leg day? It's called DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Both pro athletes everyday love using Red Light Therapy for it's benefits on speeding up muscle recovery and dialling down soreness. It's also got the added benefit of improving your performance by enhancing mitochondrial efficiency.

3. Chronic Back and Neck Pain

Got a back that absolutely hates you? RLT’s been shown to help, mostly by letting your cells clean up the mess of inflammation and boosting circulation.

4. Recovering from surgery
Knee surgery, tummy tuck, whatever, Red Light Therapy panels can be a game changer when it comes to recovering. It helps reduce scarring, and people swear by it for making the whole recovery process less of a pain (literally).

5. Neuropathy and Nerve Pain
Whether from diabetes, chemo, some random rogue infection, or just bad luck with injuries, Red Light Therapy comes in, it boosts cellular energy and reduces oxidative stress which then results in less pain and possibly even nerves that behave again. Far better than another round of sketchy painkillers.

6. Fibromyalgia
People with fibro have tried everything. RLT results in less pain and fatigue with regular doses of red light, due to the reduced inflammation and increased endorphins.

Does Science Back This Up, or is it BS?

Here’s the lowdown on Red Light Therapy, straight from the science nerds but without the overload of science jargon:

An extensive meta analysis in The Lancet (2009) proved that people with chronic neck pain actually felt less pain after undergoing Red Light Therapy. It's not a miracle cure, but if you’ve ever woken up feeling like a robot with a rusty neck, you’d probably be down to try it.

A 2014 study conducted in Lasers in Medical Science showed that participants with osteoarthritis in their knees saw genuine pain relief and better movement/increased mobility after just a month of RLT. Yep, only four weeks! Less hobbling, more living.

A randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled clinical study In Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2016) found that athletes who used RLT before exercise performed better, bounced back faster, and even got stronger and faster compared to the placebo group. Honestly, who wouldn’t want a cheat code for exercise? Bottom line: the science is stacking up, it’s not just Instagtam and TikTok hype.

How to Use Red Light Therapy for Pain Relief:

1. Aim it at the problem area

Get the panel close, approx 15-30cm away. Don’t try to bathe the whole, focus it on the spot that actually hurts. Knees, shoulders, achy muscles, whatever’s making you sore. Alternatively if you're using a full body panel, sit or stand your entire body in front of it.

2. Duration

Don’t overdo it. Start with 10–20 minutes, three to five times a week. But, y'know, actually stick with it. You can’t just use it on your elbow once and expect to wake up pain free. Most people start to feel something after a couple weeks, but it’s not magic: you've got to be consistent.

3. Hydrate

Chug some water. Seriously. H2O helps your body flush out all the junk your cells are kicking up. Hydration is key.

4. Get some healthy movement

Don't worry, you don’t need to run a marathon, just don’t turn into a couch potato between sessions.

5. Stay consistent

Healing’s a bit of a slow burn. If you’ve got chronic pain or nagging inflammation, don’t ditch RLT after a week just because you haven't witnessed a medical miracle. Make it part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth or complaining about the weather. Give it time, and you might just start feeling like a new person (or at least a slightly less achy one).

Bottom Line:

Red Light Therapy might just be the missing piece in the puzzle to help you reach your full health potential. It’s a non invasive, drug free way to tackle pain and inflammation by letting your cells do what they do best: fix stuff. Got arthritis, sore muscles, or just sick of being in pain all the time? Give it a go.

Ready to see if Red Light Therapy is the next addition to your pain-busting arsenal? Check out our lineup of Red Light Therapy Devices and take the next step to easing your aches.

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Note: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment.

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