Red Light Therapy for Athletes: Performance & Recovery

About the author

Evelyn Reed, M.S.

Health Science EducatorCertified Wellness Coach

Evelyn Reed, M.S., is a Health Science Educator and Certified Wellness Coach specializing in evidence-based, at-home wellness solutions. With a Master's degree in Health Science, she focuses on translating complex scientific research on cellular health and light therapy into practical, accessible protocols. Evelyn is dedicated to empowering individuals to manage pain, improve sleep, and enhance skin vitality. Her science-first, empathetic approach makes her a trusted advocate for achieving long-term health goals.

High performers live in the red zone. Whether you are grinding through double training sessions, juggling a demanding job with evening workouts, or competing at an elite level, your body and nervous system are under steady load. It is no surprise that many athletes and even CEOs are turning to red light therapy as a way to recover faster, reduce pain, and squeeze out an extra edge.

As a red light therapy specialist and health advocate, I want to walk you through what the science actually shows, where the evidence is still thin, and how you can use this tool intelligently at home without falling for hype. The promise is real in some areas, but it is not magic—and for athletes chasing a competitive edge, that nuance matters.

What Red Light Therapy Actually Is

Red light therapy, also called low-level laser therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation (PBM), is a non-invasive treatment that uses specific red and near-infrared wavelengths of light to influence how your cells function. Clinics, training centers, and at-home devices typically use LEDs or low-level lasers in roughly the 600–1000 nanometer range, especially around 630–660 nm for red light and 810–850 nm for deeper-penetrating near-infrared light.

At its core, red light therapy does not heat or burn tissue. Instead, the light penetrates your skin and is absorbed by mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of your cells. Multiple sources, including Penn State Behrend’s wellness program and rehabilitation clinics, describe how this light boosts mitochondrial function and increases production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), your cells’ main energy molecule. Some research cited by sports rehabilitation providers suggests that the right wavelengths can increase cellular energy output dramatically, with reports of ATP production rising by up to about 200 percent in certain experimental settings.

Beyond ATP, red and near-infrared light appear to influence nitric oxide handling, blood flow, and inflammatory signaling. Studies summarized by athletic recovery centers and physical therapy clinics note increased nitric oxide release, which relaxes blood vessels (vasodilation) and improves circulation. At the same time, PBM appears to reduce markers of oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines while supporting antioxidant defenses. In practice, this combination may mean less swelling, less stiffness, and a more favorable environment for tissue repair after hard exercise.

Importantly, red light therapy is generally described as supportive rather than curative. University and hospital sources emphasize that it aims to augment your body’s own healing and regulatory systems, not replace structured rehabilitation, strength training, or medical care.

Red light therapy explained: device on skin, cellular energy stimulation, recovery benefits, photobiomodulation.

How Red Light Therapy Interacts with Muscle and Performance

When athletes talk about “using light” for performance, they are usually targeting skeletal muscle and its ability to produce and sustain force. Here is how that looks at the tissue level, based on the current research and clinical usage.

Mitochondria in muscle cells absorb red and near-infrared photons, particularly at enzymes like cytochrome c oxidase. Reviews of photobiomodulation in human muscle tissue describe several downstream effects: more ATP, better defenses against oxidative stress, modulation of genes related to repair, and possibly more efficient muscle fiber activation. Some sports medicine centers also highlight improved regulation of calcium ions inside muscle cells, which helps fibers contract and relax more effectively.

Improved blood flow plays a second role. By increasing nitric oxide and widening capillaries and small vessels, red light therapy can deliver more oxygen and nutrients to working muscles while enhancing removal of metabolic waste products like lactate. Rehabilitation clinics and fitness facilities report that athletes using PBM often describe less heaviness and stiffness after hard sessions, and objective studies have documented lower levels of blood markers such as creatine kinase and C-reactive protein in certain protocols.

Finally, there is the inflammation story. Short-term inflammation after a hard workout or injury is normal and necessary, but chronic unresolved inflammation can limit performance and increase pain. Joovv’s work with professional teams, as well as sports chiropractors and physical therapists, frames red light therapy as a way to calm excessive inflammation, especially when combined with sleep, nutrition, and load management.

Taken together, these mechanisms explain why red light therapy is marketed to athletes as a way to train harder, recover faster, and possibly adapt better to training. The real question is whether the research backs those claims in a meaningful way.

What the Research Really Says for Athletes

Evidence around red light therapy and athletic performance is promising in some areas and disappointing in others. It is crucial to distinguish between laboratory markers, short-term performance tests, and real-world competitive outcomes.

Performance Gains: Mixed but Interesting

On the positive side, several sports medicine and strength and conditioning sources describe trials where red or near-infrared light was applied to muscles either before or after training. In studies cited by Synergy Physical Therapy and Wellness, low-level laser or LED therapy around 808–904 nm, combined with strength training, increased peak torque and lifting capacity more than training alone. Work in twins suggested greater muscle hypertrophy and upregulation of muscle growth genes when PBM was added post-training, along with lower biochemical markers of muscle damage.

Endurance-focused studies summarized by Athletic Lab and NSCA Coach are also intriguing. In one context, adding photobiomodulation before and after treadmill sessions led to endurance improvements roughly three times faster than control groups. Experiments using red light during rest intervals in resistance protocols observed improved fatigue resistance, allowing athletes to sustain maximal repetition sets for longer.

However, a comprehensive review of photobiomodulation in human muscle up to 2016 found the picture is far from consistent. That review screened nearly 1,000 articles and included 46 eligible studies with over 1,000 healthy volunteers or athletes. Some protocols showed clear benefits, such as increased time to exhaustion or better preservation of strength after eccentric exercise. Others, using different wavelengths, doses, or treatment patterns, found no meaningful improvements in repetitions, lactate levels, or fatigue indices. The authors emphasized that parameter choices—wavelength, energy dose, beam area, and number of sites treated—have a major impact on outcomes.

A coaching-oriented analysis published through TrainingPeaks reached an even more cautious conclusion. Drawing on a 2016 review in J Biophotonics, it noted that while certain studies reported favorable biochemical markers, there was no consistent, clinically meaningful improvement in real-world performance, recovery, or muscle soreness. This article recommends viewing red light panels as an interesting but currently unproven performance tool, especially given their cost.

Stanford Medicine experts are similarly skeptical, stating that claims about red light therapy improving athletic performance are not yet strongly supported by high-quality data. They consider performance enhancement a speculative area that needs more rigorous trials.

Recovery, DOMS, and Injury: Stronger but Still Not Settled

The recovery side of the equation tends to show more encouraging data, especially in rehabilitation settings.

Several sports physical therapy clinics report clinical and research findings where delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is reduced substantially after red light exposure. One article from FunctionSmart Physical Therapy cites research suggesting DOMS can be reduced by up to about 50 percent with appropriate wavelengths and dosing, allowing athletes to return to intense training sooner. The same source describes faster healing of muscle and tendon strains and even some bone injuries, likely via enhanced collagen synthesis and blood vessel formation.

A study summarized by LED Technologies followed 65 university athletes with a range of injuries using LED phototherapy. The mean return-to-play time in the treated group was 9.6 days versus an anticipated 19.23 days, and no adverse events were reported. The authors concluded that LED phototherapy significantly and safely reduced time away from sport.

Not all DOMS studies are positive, though. The review of photobiomodulation on human muscle found that several protocols over the biceps brachii did not significantly reduce soreness, pain, or strength loss compared with placebo. Other upper-limb protocols did show benefits when different wavelengths or application schedules were used. A separate systematic review discussed by Athletic Lab, covering 15 studies with 317 participants, concluded that robust evidence for meaningful DOMS reduction is still lacking despite some promising findings.

For sports injuries, a dedicated guide from Krysus Health and Performance notes that wavelengths between about 600–1000 nm have been used for sprains, strains, tendonitis, and joint pain. Treatment sessions typically last 10–30 minutes, two to five times a week, with many athletes reporting faster tissue regeneration, reduced swelling, improved joint mobility, and quicker return to sport. LED-based devices have also been applied to neck pain, plantar fasciitis, and localized pain in hands, feet, arms, and legs.

University Hospitals adds another layer, citing a 2021 review suggesting that red light therapy may relieve pain from acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions and fibromyalgia. Clinicians in that system see early promise especially for tendinopathies and more superficial inflammatory problems, though they stress that more research is needed and that red light will not repair mechanical injuries like ligament tears or advanced osteoarthritis.

Sleep, Stress, and Overall Resilience

Recovery is not only about muscles. Sleep quality and stress resilience are central to performance, and red light therapy has been explored here as well.

Athletic Lab highlights a study in Chinese female basketball players where evening red light therapy improved sleep quality and nighttime melatonin secretion compared with a placebo condition. The same article notes that red light exposure during or after waking can lessen sleep inertia, that groggy, low-performance period many athletes feel first thing in the morning.

City Fitness and Rehabmart both emphasize sleep as a key benefit reported by users. City Fitness suggests short 10–20 minute sessions in the evening, which may help regulate circadian rhythm and support roughly eight hours of restorative sleep, though these recommendations are based on clinical experience rather than large-scale trials. Rehabmart describes red light therapy as supporting better melatonin production and deeper sleep in high-performing executives and athletes who are trying to buffer the effects of chronic stress and long work hours.

At the same time, Stanford’s dermatology experts caution that sleep benefits remain an area without strong, definitive evidence. Their assessment is that improved sleep is plausible based on biological mechanisms and small early studies, but still needs more rigorous evaluation.

How Different Athletes Might Use Red Light Therapy

The way an athlete might integrate red light therapy depends heavily on the demands of their sport, their training age, and their injury history. While protocols must be individualized, the existing research and clinical reports suggest some patterns.

Strength and power athletes, such as weightlifters and bodybuilders, often use red light therapy post-workout to limit soreness and downtime. City Fitness recommends pairing post-lift sessions with a high-protein diet and good hydration to support muscle growth. Clinical studies cited by Synergy Physical Therapy show that when low-level lasers or LEDs are used after strength training, gains in peak torque and total work can surpass those of training-only groups.

Endurance athletes—runners, cyclists, and swimmers—are primarily interested in mitochondrial capacity, endurance, and consistent training volume. City Fitness and Athletic Lab both reference data where red and near-infrared light was applied before and after treadmill or endurance sessions, resulting in faster improvements in time to exhaustion and better tolerance of repeated efforts. Some protocols use pre-conditioning 15–30 minutes before high-intensity work to “prime” muscles at the cellular level, then follow up with post-session exposure to support recovery.

Bodyweight and mind-body practitioners, from calisthenics athletes to yoga and Pilates enthusiasts, tend to focus on managing muscle fatigue and joint soreness so they can maintain a consistent schedule. Fitness clubs and at-home users often apply red light to specific problem areas like knees, shoulders, or lower back to manage low-grade aches that otherwise might limit practice frequency.

Older or “mature” athletes may be drawn to red light therapy for its joint-supporting and anti-inflammatory effects. City Fitness explicitly notes that mature fitness enthusiasts can benefit from improved mobility and reduced joint discomfort, while Synergy Physical Therapy points to research where PBM combined with strength training increased torque and total work in elderly women.

High-stress professionals, like the CEOs profiled in Rehabmart’s article, are not traditional athletes but often deal with chronic sleep deprivation and inflammatory load similar to that of heavy training. They use red light therapy to manage pain, improve sleep, and maintain energy so they can stay “in the game” both physically and mentally.

Red light therapy for athletes: muscle recovery, joint inflammation relief, soreness, injury healing.

Pros, Cons, and Common Misconceptions

Red light therapy sits in an interesting place: it is heavily researched yet still lacks fully standardized clinical protocols for athletes. Understanding both the upside and the limitations helps you decide whether it belongs in your own recovery plan.

Potential Benefits

Across studies and real-world use, several potential advantages emerge. Athletes and coaches report less muscle soreness, faster return to training after hard efforts, and in some cases improved strength or endurance gains when red light is combined with structured training. Rehabilitation clinics describe shorter return-to-play times after injury, such as the university athlete group whose average return time was about half of what was expected when LED phototherapy was used, and pain clinics see red light as a promising tool for certain tendinopathies and chronic pain conditions.

There are also systemic benefits that matter for performance even if they are not captured by sprint times or lifting totals. These include improved sleep quality in some contexts, potentially better mood and cognitive function via mitochondrial support in the brain, and reduced overall inflammation and oxidative stress, which can help protect long-term health.

Another clear advantage is safety. Across sources like WebMD, University Hospitals, LED Technologies, and Rehabmart, red and infrared devices used appropriately are described as generally safe, non-invasive, and free of ultraviolet rays, with serious side effects considered rare.

Limitations and Uncertainties

The biggest limitation is not safety but certainty. The evidence base is large in quantity but uneven in quality and consistency. The same therapy that improves repetitions and reduces markers of muscle damage in one study can show no benefit in another when parameters are changed. Reviews emphasize a “therapeutic window,” where too low a dose does nothing and too high a dose can blunt or reverse benefits, yet there is no universal agreement on the best dosing for each muscle group or sport.

Independent experts at Stanford and performance analysts at TrainingPeaks stress that, up to now, red light therapy has not demonstrated a consistent, clinically meaningful boost in athletic performance or recovery across diverse populations. The strongest data still live in small trials and highly specific settings, not in large-scale outcomes for competitive sport.

There are also clear limits to what red light therapy is expected to do. University Hospitals notes that it does not repair mechanical injuries such as ligament tears or advanced osteoarthritis, and should be viewed as a way to modulate inflammation and support healing, not to reverse major structural damage. WebMD reviews similarly show modest benefit for certain pain and tendon conditions, but little for others like osteoarthritis, and emphasize that treatments must be repeated over weeks or months to sustain effects.

Cost and Practical Barriers

The financial side is nontrivial. TrainingPeaks points out that red light panels marketed to athletes often cost from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Rehabmart, looking across a broader market, reports that high-quality devices can range from about $1,000 to $150,000, with many consumer and clinic-grade units clustered around 5,000. University Hospitals notes that at-home devices can start under $100 but scale quickly, and health insurance usually does not cover them.

For many athletes, this raises an obvious question: is the incremental benefit worth the investment compared with proven, lower-cost interventions like structured training, sleep optimization, nutrition, and basic recovery work? The cautious answer from neutral sources is that red light therapy may be worth testing if you have the budget and specific issues it might address, but it should not displace foundational practices.

At-Home vs Clinic Devices

Another key distinction for athletes is the difference between devices in professional settings and those you can buy for home use.

Dermatology experts at Stanford and clinical reviews highlight that in-clinic devices tend to be more powerful and carefully calibrated for wavelength and dose. At-home gadgets—panels, caps, comb-like hair devices, masks, and small pads—often provide less clear information about power density and effective dose. While some can still be helpful, especially for milder concerns, consumers face uncertainty about whether they are receiving a therapeutic level of light or just a weak approximation.

LED Technologies, which manufactures wellness devices, advises choosing high-powered LED units that specify their wavelengths and looking for FDA clearance as a basic safety indicator. WebMD and University Hospitals echo this, noting that FDA clearance primarily speaks to safety and device quality, not guaranteed effectiveness.

For athletes, a practical approach might involve trying supervised sessions with a sports medicine clinic, physical therapist, or recovery center first. That allows you to experience a clinically controlled protocol. If you notice meaningful benefits and want to continue at home, you can then invest in a device that more closely matches the parameters used in that setting.

Comparison of at-home health monitoring devices versus specialized clinic diagnostic equipment.

Practical Guidelines for Athletes Considering Red Light Therapy

Within the limits of current knowledge, several practical patterns emerge from sports rehab clinics, training centers, and clinical reviews. These are not strict rules, but they reflect how red light therapy is actually being used with athletes.

Many protocols for deeper muscle and joint work favor near-infrared wavelengths around 810–850 nm, sometimes combined with red light near 660 nm for more superficial tissues. Physical therapy and sports rehab centers commonly use sessions of about 10–20 minutes per body area, with FunctionSmart recommending this range and noting that benefits often become more measurable after roughly 2–4 weeks of consistent use. Athletic Lab suggests that around 20 minutes tends to be a point of diminishing returns for a given area, especially at closer distances to the light source.

Timing matters. Performance-focused programs often use red light as pre-conditioning, applying it 15–30 minutes before heavy lifting or intense endurance efforts to prime mitochondrial function. Endurance-oriented setups sometimes combine pre- and post-session treatments; Athletic Lab references endurance improvements progressing about three times faster when photobiomodulation was used around treadmill sessions. For recovery, several clinics recommend applying red or near-infrared light within a few hours after training, which appears to support repair processes and help reduce DOMS.

Frequency depends on your goals. Injury-focused sources like Krysus Health and Performance suggest around two to five sessions per week for acute sports injuries or ongoing pain, with each session lasting about 10–30 minutes on the affected region. Weightlifters and bodybuilders may use post-workout sessions several times per week to limit soreness and downtime, while general fitness users, including “weekend warriors,” often integrate shorter sessions into an evening wind-down routine.

Consistency is an underlying theme everywhere. City Fitness emphasizes regular use as part of a post-workout or evening ritual, not sporadic exposure. University Hospitals and WebMD both stress that results usually require multiple, regular sessions over weeks or months rather than one-off treatments.

Safety practices are straightforward but important. Sources across clinical and consumer education agree on avoiding direct light into the eyes and using protective eyewear, especially with stronger devices. Skin should be clean and free of lotions during treatment, and exposure times should follow manufacturer or clinician guidance to avoid overheating or irritation. People who are pregnant, take medications that increase light sensitivity, or have a history of skin cancer or eye disease are advised by medical sources such as WebMD and University Hospitals to discuss red light therapy with a physician before starting.

Finally, it is essential to place red light therapy in the right context. Rehabmart and Joovv both frame it as an adjunct, not a replacement, for structured exercise, nutrition, sleep, and other proven modalities like physical therapy or, in some cases, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and compression. Even strong advocates emphasize that it is not a magic pill and works best when layered onto a solid foundation.

Here is a concise way to think about where the science currently sits for athletes:

Goal or concern	What current sources report	Evidence snapshot and caveats
Strength and power gains	Some trials show greater torque and hypertrophy when PBM is combined with strength training	Positive but protocol-dependent; not universally replicated across all studies
Endurance and fatigue resistance	Improvements in time to exhaustion and fatigue resistance when used pre/post sessions	Encouraging small studies; 2016 review and TrainingPeaks note inconsistent outcomes
DOMS and soreness	Reports of up to about 50 percent soreness reduction and preserved strength in some protocols	Mixed results; systematic review finds overall evidence for DOMS still inconclusive
Injury healing	Faster return-to-play, better pain control for soft-tissue injuries and tendinopathies	Strongest support in rehab settings; still needs more large, controlled trials
Sleep and stress	Better sleep quality and melatonin in small athlete samples; many users report feeling calmer	Biologically plausible, but Stanford and others classify sleep benefits as early-stage research
Long-term safety	Generally safe, low risk, non-invasive, no UV	Main downsides are cost, time commitment, and uncertain dosing across devices

Frequently Asked Questions

Is red light therapy actually proven to boost athletic performance?

There is evidence that red and near-infrared light can improve certain short-term outcomes, such as time to exhaustion, strength gains when combined with training, or the ability to perform more repetitions in specific protocols. Reviews of photobiomodulation in muscle and reports from NSCA Coach, Synergy Physical Therapy, and Athletic Lab highlight these findings. However, independent reviewers at Stanford Medicine and TrainingPeaks emphasize that the overall evidence is inconsistent and has not yet shown a reliable, clinically meaningful performance boost across diverse athlete populations. The most accurate answer is that red light therapy is promising but not definitively proven as a performance enhancer, and much depends on the exact parameters used.

How soon will I notice results if I start using red light therapy?

Timelines vary. FunctionSmart Physical Therapy notes that athletes often perceive subtle benefits like reduced stiffness early on, with more measurable improvements in training capacity and fatigue typically emerging after about 2–4 weeks of consistent use. Injury-focused guidance from Krysus Health and Performance underscores the importance of regular sessions—several times per week over multiple weeks—for noticeable changes in pain and mobility. If you try red light therapy, it is reasonable to give it at least a few weeks of consistent, well-structured use before deciding whether it is helping you.

Is an at-home red light device worth the cost for athletes?

That depends on your budget, your specific issues, and your expectations. TrainingPeaks notes that athlete-targeted light panels can be quite expensive, often costing hundreds to thousands of dollars, and argues that the current evidence does not justify a major investment for most athletes compared with proven recovery strategies. Rehabmart, which is supportive of red light therapy, acknowledges that high-quality devices commonly cost 5,000, with top-end units going much higher. University Hospitals points out that some handheld devices are available under $100, though these are usually less powerful and not covered by insurance. A cautious approach is to prioritize sleep, nutrition, training structure, and low-cost recovery work first. If you still struggle with specific soft-tissue or recovery issues and have the means, trialing supervised sessions in a clinic or recovery center before purchasing your own device can help you make a more informed decision.

Is red light therapy safe to combine with heavy training and other therapies?

Across sources such as WebMD, University Hospitals, LED Technologies, and Rehabmart, red light therapy is described as generally safe, non-invasive, and compatible with other treatments when used properly. Sports medicine practitioners routinely combine it with strength training, physical therapy, compression, ice, and occasionally hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Standard precautions include protecting your eyes, avoiding excessive exposure, and consulting a health professional if you have complex medical conditions or are pregnant. As with any modality, if you experience unusual discomfort, skin changes, or symptom worsening, it is important to stop and seek medical guidance.

Red light therapy can be a thoughtful ally in your performance and recovery plan when you understand what it can and cannot do. Used alongside disciplined training, sleep, nutrition, and sound rehab, it may help you feel and perform better, but it is most effective when approached with curiosity, patience, and realistic expectations rather than as a shortcut to success.