Red light therapy has a growing number of uses and potential benefits in health care, from treating psoriasis and healing muscle tissue to improving acne and slowing signs of aging. Now, researchers believe it might also help improve some ocular conditions.
But more research is needed to solidify those claims.
Red light therapy is believed to enhance mitochondrial function, leading to increased adenosine triphosphate production, which supports cell repair and survival.
Specifically in the eye, anti-inflammatory effects of the red light may reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine production and lower inflammation in ocular tissues. The therapy may also protect retinal ganglion cells and optic nerve fibers from damage by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis. Research is also investigating how red light therapy promotes tissue repair by stimulating collagen production and angiogenesis, beneficial for post-surgical recovery or corneal injuries.
Cecelia Koetting, OD, FAAO, instructor of ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, offers some insight into the therapy, why it might be beneficial, and the research that could make it more commonplace.