Red Light Therapy Panels

Red light therapy panels emit red and near-infrared light — the practice researchers call photobiomodulation — with sessions of a few minutes aimed at skin or muscle.

What published research reports

A systematic review and meta-analysis in Lasers in Medical Science (2018) reported that photobiomodulation applied before exercise improved measures of muscular performance and reduced markers of exercise-induced fatigue across the pooled trials in healthy people. The authors note wide variation between studies in wavelength, dose and device type, which makes it hard to translate lab protocols to consumer panels, and that optimal dosing remains an open research question. Trials in the review used specific doses delivered at set distances — parameters most consumer devices do not publish equivalently.

References

• Vanin AA, et al. Photobiomodulation therapy for the improvement of muscular performance and reduction of muscular fatigue associated with exercise in healthy people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lasers Med Sci. 2018;33:181–214. PubMed