Combining Exercise With Red Light Therapy At Home

It comes as no surprise as to why athletes and fitness enthusiasts love red light therapy (RLT). Not only is it a safe and non-invasive form of alternative treatment to increase physical performance, but it also promotes muscle recovery, facilitating a faster return to play after injury.

However, what are the current findings when it comes to combining it with a workout? Does undergoing RLT before, during, or after matter, too?

In this article, join the Rojo team as we tackle the benefits of each treatment for you to optimise a workout routine while preventing any injuries from happening in the first place.

Keep in mind that due to hundreds of studies in this field, we cannot possibly cover each article. However, we have taken the studies we feel offer the best insights to you.

How Red Light Therapy Works

Also known as photobiomodulation (PMB) or low-level laser therapy (LLLT), red light therapy utilises LED bulbs that emit red and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths ranging from 630-850 nanometres (nm) to stimulate the body’s natural biological processes.

Keeping up with the context of the article, RLT devices can help improve these several aspects:

• Boosts mitochondrial function by improving adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production while also helping reduce oxidative stress, a common cause of inflammation.

• Improve blood flow through vasodilation, persisting for up to 30 minutes even after treatment.

• Stimulate cartilage repair and prevent further degradation

Can You Combine RLT With Workouts?

Yes, a growing body of clinical trials suggests that you can even do them before, during, and after a workout. 

One thing these studies have in common is that including RLT in their routines resulted in improvements in physical performance through strength, speed, and muscle recovery.

Before Workouts

A 2018 study explored the effects of RLT (shown as photobiomodulation therapy) on muscle function and its influence on muscular fatigue, particularly in the knee extensor muscles.

16 male volunteers were subjected to five sessions where different treatments were applied:

1. Control (no treatment)
2. Placebo (inactive treatment)
3. RLT applied both six hours before and immediately before the test
4. RLT applied for six hours with a placebo immediately before
5. RLT applied immediately before (with placebo six hours before)

Researchers applied RLT to nine sites on the knee extensor muscles while participants underwent 45 repetitions of knee flexion extension at high speeds. Results concluded that the third group enhanced muscle performance, and endurance while maintaining strength during repetitive and strenuous knee exercises.

During Workouts

It’s a given that in order to effectively administer RLT, most findings opt out of studying its effect during an exercise. This results in significantly fewer studies when compared to before and after administration, but we found one study that produced noteworthy results.

A 2014 study exploring the effects of RLT (shown as infrared-light-emitting diode) randomly assigned 30 women aged 50-60 years to one of three groups. These consisted of the following:

• The LED group, who were subjected to treadmill training with RLT treatments

• The exercise group, who only did treadmill training

• The sedentary group, who neither underwent treadmill training nor RLT treatments

The training sessions occurred twice a week, lasting for half a year. Results show that the LED group showed significantly higher power values and lower fatigue levels compared to the other two groups.

This suggests that combining LED therapy with exercise may become a promising approach to improve physical performance in the future.

After Workouts

Current findings state that undergoing red light therapy after a workout may facilitate faster recovery, prevent muscle soreness, and accelerate healing – let’s take this 2014 study as an example.

In this study, researchers explored the effect of RLTs on recovery from damage-inducing exercises, mainly by splitting 17 healthy young men into two groups.

One group received RLT treatment immediately after exercise, while the other received a placebo treatment.

The participants were asked to do 30 repetitions of a muscle damage-inducing arm exercise, given in the form of bicep curls using their non-dominant arm. Results showed that those receiving RLT treatment had less muscle soreness, strength loss, and retained a better range of motion in their elbows when compared to the placebo group.

These results suggest that red light therapy helps individuals recover faster and even negates the effects of any damage-inducing exercises.

Incorporating Red Light Therapy in Your Daily Routine for Wellness

While we would ideally want to cover more of these findings, they only cement the fact that RLT is an effective form of treatment when it comes to increasing muscle performance and minimising recovery times.

If you’re interested in combining red light therapy at home with workouts, we invite you to take a look at our selection of premium RLT devices. 

Our focus on performance and superior design features allow you to fully control each individual wavelength, and automate the healing process using our smart modes.

For concerns, questions, or inquiries, feel free to contact us today and we'll be in touch as soon as possible.