Red light therapy claims to heal wounds, improve pain and reduce wrinkles. But the evidence for it working is dim | Antiviral

Wellness trends change rapidly, but red light therapy has remained a recurring focus for decades. People claim it can regenerate cells, heal wounds, reduce pain, and improve acne, along with reducing wrinkles and rejuvenating skin. Despite long-standing interest, the evidence is not solid. Online claims are supported by many studies, but most trials are small and poorly designed, making results unreliable. Trials can be easy to run because only a few red LEDs and willing participants are needed. Some studies use unconventional control groups, such as company employees, which further limits confidence in findings.

"If you go online, there are pretty amazing claims made about red light therapy it causes cellular regeneration, it can heal wounds, reduce pain and help with acne. The therapy is also meant to reduce wrinkles, rejuvenate your skin and make you appear younger in just a few short sessions. The data behind all of this is remarkably weak."

"It is very easy to run a small trial on red light therapy because all you need is a few red LEDs and some people willing to lend you their skin. That has led to a massive proliferation of papers looking into various applications of the treatment. The problem is that most of these trials are small and very poorly done."

"If this was a standard medical treatment, we'd have dozens of high-quality studies, probably funded at least in part by the sale of expensive red light machines. But this is wellness, not medicine, and so the evidence is far less clear."

"Here's an example of a trial conducted by a medical light company that used their own employees as the control group. Another study I f"

Read at www.theguardian.com