In the last post, What is pain?, we saw that pain is a protective experience, and that touch, movement and inflammation can all turn its volume up or down. Now for the question we’re asked most: can light make a difference?
What is photobiomodulation?
Rubbing your knee changes how pain signals are processed. Could we also influence some of the biology behind those signals?
That’s one of the questions behind photobiomodulation (PBM), previously known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT). It uses specific red and near-infrared wavelengths to influence activity in cells, without relying on heat. Research has explored effects on cell signalling, mitochondria and inflammation.
What did The Lancet report?
In 2009, The Lancet published a review led by Dr Roberta Chow of 16 randomised controlled trials involving 820 patients with neck pain. Low-level laser therapy reduced pain in both acute and chronic neck pain. Across 11 trials reporting pain intensity, the average reduction was about 20 points more than the comparison on a 100-point scale, and some trials reported benefits lasting weeks after treatment.
The authors discussed evidence from laboratory, animal and human studies that red and infrared light can reduce inflammatory messengers, including TNF-alpha, IL-1β and PGE2. That was a proposed explanation, not proof that these changes caused the improvement. Still, it raises an intriguing possibility: could light influence some of the processes behind pain, rather than simply masking it?
These findings relate to specific treatment protocols, wavelengths and doses used in clinical trials. They can’t be applied automatically to every red-light or laser device, including ours.
Pain relief is not the same as healing
Rubbing your knee eases the pain, but the injured tissue is unchanged. In the same way, something that reduces inflammation or changes pain signalling doesn’t automatically repair a damaged tendon, cartilage or ligament. Pain relief and healing are related, but they’re not the same. Feeling better matters. Understanding why you feel better matters too.
Movement: the missing ingredient?
Our bodies are designed to move. Muscles, tendons, joints and bones respond to the demands we place on them. When something hurts, our instinct is to stop, and straight after an injury that’s often sensible. But avoiding movement for too long brings its own problems.
For many muscle and joint problems, carefully graded movement is central to recovery. This is where pain relief earns its place: if pain eases enough to move comfortably, rehabilitation becomes easier. That doesn’t mean ignoring pain or pushing through injury. It means using a window of relief to move more confidently.
So, what is pain?
Pain isn’t simply an alarm that sounds when something is damaged. It’s shaped by nerves, the spinal cord, the brain, inflammation, past experience and our physical and emotional circumstances. We can influence it through touch, through movement, and through treatments that change how signals are processed or how inflammation behaves. Photobiomodulation is one area of active research, with encouraging findings for some muscle and joint pain and important questions still open.
The goal isn’t simply to silence the alarm. It’s to understand what it’s telling you, deal with the cause where possible, and keep moving.
Move. Recover. Move again.
If you have pain that is new, severe or not settling, see your GP or a registered health professional first.
Sources
Chow RT, Johnson MI, Lopes-Martins RAB, Bjordal JM. Efficacy of low-level laser therapy in the management of neck pain. The Lancet, 2009; 374(9705):1897–1908. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61522-1