🛑 Weekly Newsletter: Less Fracture Pain With Red Light Therapy?

This week we'll talk about fracture pain and red light therapy. We've also added lots of our latest content, including:

Female health (menopause, female fertility, and more) and red light therapy
Alex's huge change in his facial skin treatment routine
The August red light therapy news

And much more.

Huge May 2026 Fracture Pain Review

So this study is fresh off the press - May 2026. The free full text is readable HERE. We've actually gotten quite a few questions about this topic in our Facebook group, and people generally don't know whether light therapy helps with fractures.

The outcomes were, firstly, pain, and secondly, function and healing. Here's what the researchers state about these outcomes - I'll break the outcomes down in plain language below:

"Finally, 12 and 9 studies were ultimately included in the systematic review and meta-analysis, respectively [on pain, and on function/healing, respectively]. The pooled analysis showed that the one-week pain score was lower in the PBM group than in the placebo group (MD −0.74, 95% CI −1.00, −0.47, p < 0.0001, I² = 0%). Subgroup analysis showed that the difference between the two groups was statistically significant regardless of fracture site or acupoint irradiation. Changes in pain scores were statistically significant in both groups at different wavelength combinations. The improvement in grip strength at 4 weeks was significantly greater in PBM than in placebo (MD 5.03, 95% CI 4.29, 5.78; p < 0.0001; I² = 0%). There were no significant differences in pain and functional scores at 4–26 weeks. Bone healing did not show differences between the two groups. No side effects reported."

So:

Pain decreases, especially in the short term
At 4 weeks after the therapy started, those receiving light therapy also had superior grip strength
At 4-26 weeks, however, so later in the recovery after a fracture, pain and functional scores weren't different between the intervention and placebo groups.
Bone healing also didn't increase!
And, just as important, there were no side effects in the studies, so red light therapy for bone healing seems safe!

(I've got my own blog coming up about this topic as well, and perhaps that's out already!)

Only human studies were included here, by the way. And, the fracture locations differed a lot, although there were quite a few lower jaw fractures somehow in the included studies, but also some of the lower arm and many other locations.

Some other observations of mine:

Wavelengths are all over the place, but more near-infrared (NIR) dominant
Only a few studies use red light
All studies use lasers, not LEDs
Dosage and treatment area differ widely between studies
Treatment frequency and period (days, weeks, etc) also differs big time)

So it's not super easy to pass judgment here. Fortunately, we do have a display of the pain scores, and as you can see, despite different treatment protocols, there's a benefit for light therapy treatment across the board:

This effect is also true for different fracture sites, such as the limbs or jaw (mandibular):

Many other analyses are visible if you read the full text of the study. Pain at night, for instance, which was only measured in 2 studies, shows a benefit for light therapy:

Later on, the comments of the researchers in the discussion section of the paper are also surprising:

"In the future, more trials are needed to determine the optimal laser parameters for patients with fractures. The difference in efficacy and safety between laser acupuncture and acupuncture also needs more exploration. While no studies have reported side effects or adverse reactions, new studies are needed to evaluate the safety of therapeutic band low-level lasers. "

For me, it's weird that there is still such a hyperfocus on lasers somehow, even though 95%+ of consumers are using LEDs nowadays, and they are far more accessible and safe for the average person.

Want more of the LED vs laser discussion? Check out these resources:

And this one:

Also, for more info, I've written an article that looks at a lot more research on light therapy and fractures that you can read here:

Here Are Our Latest Light Therapy Insiders' Articles:

Every single article that we've published recently - you can find the videos in the article itself:

I Have Been Using Red Light Therapy Incorrectly! - This video of Alex is going viral, wherein he explains how his recommendations for facial treatments with panels and masks have made a huge change in the last year! Must-read/watch!
Red Light Therapy For Women SPECIAL: Everything You Need To Know - Huge deep dive into female health, and how to adjust red light therapy treatment/protocols for that specifically, with the great Tracy Donegan. We also cover female specific topics such as periods, female fertility, and more
Chroma’s New Light Therapy Devices: The Most Innovative Red Light Therapy Devices Yet? - Chroma has released a ton of devices that used a lot of outside the box thinking in the last few years. Alex considers these, such as a UVA/UVB device, indoor lamps, a mask replacement, and much more!
Red Light Therapy News August 2026: HUGE Developments - Here's Bart with the latest products, science, gossip, Q&A, and a lot more, in the light therapy space!

Also, Check Out Some Of Our Other Content:

Below you'll find some of our best content that you shouldn't miss:

Light Therapy Insiders Science Tool

Search for different health conditions and benefits, and get Bart's breakdown of the science on that topic, as well as recommended devices and light therapy routines.

We've been trying to simplify this space as much as possible: