The Uses of Red Light Therapy in Animals - What the Research Is Starting to Show

Red light therapy is one of those tools that a lot of people are curious about, and honestly, for good reason. It is being used more and more in the animal world for things like pain, healing support, inflammation, soft tissue injuries, and recovery. But one thing I always think matters is this - what does the actual research say, especially when it comes to animals?

Red light therapy, also called photobiomodulation, uses red and near-infrared light to influence cells and tissues. The basic idea is that light energy can help support cellular function, especially in stressed or injured tissue. Researchers have proposed that one of the key targets is the mitochondria, which may help explain why red light therapy is often studied for tissue repair, inflammation, and pain modulation.

That said, I think it is important to be honest here too - the veterinary research is encouraging, but it is also mixed. A 2023 systematic review looking at veterinary laser therapy found 45 studies involving dogs, cats, and horses. The authors noted that beneficial effects were reported in some cases, especially for musculoskeletal issues, neurologic conditions, wounds, skin disease, and pain, but they also pointed out that protocols vary a lot and many studies had moderate to high risk of bias. In other words, there is promise here, but there is still a need for better-quality research and more consistency in treatment settings.

1. Pain relief and osteoarthritis support

One of the most talked-about uses of red light therapy in animals is pain management, especially in dogs with osteoarthritis. That makes sense, because these are the cases where owners are often looking for supportive options that are non-invasive and can be used alongside a larger rehab or management plan. A placebo-controlled trial in dogs with elbow osteoarthritis reported improvements in lameness and pain scores, along with reduced NSAID requirement, after regularly scheduled photobiomodulation treatments.

Another randomized double-blinded controlled trial in dogs with bilateral hip osteoarthritis also found that photobiomodulation reduced pain levels and improved clinical findings. That does not mean red light therapy replaces good rehab, thoughtful conditioning, or veterinary care, but it does suggest that it may be a very useful adjunct for arthritic dogs.

2. Tendon and ligament injuries in horses

This is another area that gets a lot of attention, especially in the equine world. Tendon and ligament injuries can be slow, frustrating cases, and anything that may help support healing is understandably going to be of interest. A 2020 study on performance horses with tendon and ligament injuries found that high-intensity laser therapy promoted analgesic and anti-edema effects, reduced visual lameness, and reduced lesion percentage, though it did not change lesion echogenicity. The authors concluded that it appeared justifiable as a supportive physiotherapy technique for these injuries.

Another equine study looking at histological healing in a suspensory ligament branch injury model suggested better lesion healing with high-power laser treatment compared with conservative treatment. That is important, because it points not just to symptom support, but potentially to changes in tissue healing itself.

At the same time, older equine studies have not always shown strong results, which is part of why the literature overall can feel a bit inconsistent. That is a good reminder that parameters matter, and not all devices, wavelengths, or treatment plans are interchangeable.

3. Wound healing and incision healing

This is probably one of the areas where red light therapy makes the most intuitive sense to people. We often think of it as a healing support tool, and there is some veterinary research to support that idea.

In a randomized controlled clinical trial on chronic wounds in dogs, both 830 nm photobiomodulation and a multiwavelength protocol significantly improved wound area reduction compared with controls. By day 15, the wound reduction percentages were higher in both photobiomodulation groups than in the non-treated control group, and the authors concluded that PBMT could be used as an adjunctive therapy to improve wound healing in dogs.

There is also a canine study on surgical incision healing in Dachshunds following hemilaminectomy that found daily laser therapy improved cosmetic healing and increased scar scale scores by day 7 and again by day 21 compared with controls. That is especially interesting because it suggests red light therapy may be useful not only in open chronic wounds, but also in post-surgical tissue recovery.

4. Inflammation support

A big reason people use red light therapy is because they hope to support inflammation in a more targeted and non-invasive way. Mechanistically, photobiomodulation has been studied for its effects on inflammatory signaling, oxidative stress, and cellular metabolism. Experimental animal-model research has shown improvements in inflammatory and fibrotic parameters in conditions like lung fibrosis, while broader reviews describe red light therapy as having anti-inflammatory and tissue-repair effects across multiple tissue types.

This does not mean it is a cure-all for “inflammation” as a vague concept, but it does help explain why it keeps coming up in cases involving soreness, soft tissue irritation, healing, and chronic pain.

5. GI and other emerging uses

One of the more interesting things in the literature is that photobiomodulation is not only being studied for joints and wounds. There are also canine studies looking at GI conditions. For example, a 2022 study evaluated photobiomodulation therapy in dogs with chronic idiopathic large-bowel diarrhea and reported benefit in management outcomes. That tells us this field is expanding, and that researchers are exploring how light may influence more than just the musculoskeletal system.

There are also newer veterinary studies and case-based reports looking at skin disease, oral inflammation, and postoperative recovery, but the strength of evidence is still variable depending on the condition.

6. Why results can vary so much

This is probably the part that matters most for real-world use. One of the biggest challenges in red light therapy research is that “red light therapy” is not just one thing. Studies vary in wavelength, power, dose, treatment frequency, device type, and even whether hair coat or clipping affects penetration. In horses, for example, research has shown that factors like clipping and skin preparation can affect transmission of low-level laser therapy.

So when one person says red light therapy worked wonders and another says it did nothing, both experiences can be real. The settings matter. The tissue matters. The condition matters. And of course, red light therapy is usually best viewed as part of a bigger plan, not a magic fix on its own.

The conclusion

I think the fairest way to say it is this - red light therapy is a very promising tool in animal care, especially for pain support, osteoarthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, wound healing, and recovery support. The research in animals does show benefits in several areas, particularly in dogs and horses. But it is also clear that more high-quality studies are still needed, and not every protocol or every device should be assumed to work the same way.

For me, that does not make it less exciting - it just means it should be used thoughtfully. When used appropriately, red light therapy may be a really valuable supportive modality for animals, especially when it is paired with good assessment, good case management, and realistic expectations.

That is exactly why it is so important that the products you invest in come with education and customized usage protocols that have been thoughtfully developed based on the device’s power, wavelength, and the current research on the joules needed per treatment site in red light therapy.

This is something I really think people should pay close attention to when purchasing red light products. Do not get too caught up in companies making broad claims about what every product can do. Sometimes those claims may be partly justified, but as I have shown through the research, there is a lot more nuance to it than that.

That is also why I am so committed to providing my customers with education and protocols behind the products I sell. I want people to understand not just what they are using, but how to use it properly and why that matters.

References

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Pluim M, Martens A, Vanderperren K, et al. Histological tissue healing following high-power laser treatment in a model of suspensory ligament branch injury. Equine Vet J. 2022. doi:10.1111/evj.13556. PMID: 35008124.

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