Weekly Newsletter: More Advancements On Fibromyalgia?

Another week, another newsletter. We're talking about fibromyalgia today, with a huge new review on the topic.

And we've added all of our latest content below.

Strap in:

Fibromyalgia 2026 Review: Many More Advancements

This review is fresh off the press since June 2026. The free full text is also readable. This new review analyzes and integrates earlier publications on light therapy for fibromyalgia.

Let's start with the researchers' conclusion:

"[Red light therapy] demonstrated consistent short-term reductions in pain intensity and improvements in [Quality of Life]. Additional positive effects on sleep quality and psychological well-being were observed, indicating that [red light therapy] may provide additional therapeutic benefits beyond pain reduction, including improvements in sleep quality and psychological well-being. [Red light therapy] has shown promise as a safe, non-pharmacological adjunct therapy that may provide short-term improvements in pain levels and [Quality of Life]., but substantial heterogeneity limits generalizability. Clinical trials with large samples and standardized methodologies should be conducted to better clarify the role of [red light therapy] in multidisciplinary therapy for [Fibromyalgia Syndrome]."

So, that's great. Less pain, better sleep, improved quality of life. I've already covered this topic in great great detail a year ago or so - and I'll update that 2025 article soon:

The title of my article mentions "Incredible Pain Relief & Much More!" and in my opinion that's not an exaggeration.

But back to the 2026 fibromyalgia & light therapy review study. Seven earlier studies were included, analyzed, and integrated here. Weirdly enough, when I consider that study, I don't see the NovoTHOR studies - the premium red light therapy bed - that were so promising. Bummer...

And, as almost always, study parameters are all over the place. You can see these parameters in Table 2, for instance, for 3 of the included studies:

As you can see, different devices, different wavelengths, different power outputs, different total doses in J/cm2.

Nevertheless, the "data synthesis" section describes the different papers quite well in terms of outcomes:

There are super impressive pain reductions of "30–55%", measured on a VAS scale with a "3.09 to 1.27 " point difference. The VAS scale measures pain between 0 ("no pain") and 10 ("maximum pain imaginable"). For the best results here, combine exercise and red light therapy.
You can see that reduction in pain in different studies here:

Hopefully I don't need to tell you that having 30-55% less pain throughout the day is life-changing, as moderate pain will often become low pain and unbearable pain will become moderate, etc.
Quality of life improvements, measured with the "SF-36 scores [that] improved from 38.4 to 55.7 "
Pressure levels at certain painful points on the body for fibromyalgia went from "15.29 to 7.29"

No serious side effects were found either...

So all great!

Overall, here's what the researchers state about the final outcome of their review of 7 different previous studies:

"Current evidence suggests that [red light therapy] may be most beneficial when incorporated into multimodal rehabilitation programs, particularly alongside exercise-based interventions. Several included studies demonstrated improvements in pain, mobility, and functional capacity when [red light therapy] was combined with aerobic or functional exercise.

Although standardized treatment guidelines are not yet available, protocols delivering [red light therapy] using near-infrared wavelengths (808–905 nm), applied 2–3 times weekly for 8–12 weeks across multiple tender points, appeared to produce more consistent short-term symptom improvement. Application over multiple tender points or painful muscular regions was commonly used across successful studies."

That's great. And yeah, as always, more research is needed. If you want an even more detailed writeup of red light therapy for fibromyalgia then check my article on the topic. I consider topics such as local versus full-body treatment in there, as well as other studies not included in the review above.

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:

Best Handheld Red Light Therapy Device? Why the Rouge Nano Still Wins - This review was long-awaited by some of you, on a handheld device. Alex explains why the Rouge Nano is still his top handheld device!
Is Your Red Light Device Giving You The Promised Dose/Wavelength? - Alex with a very interesting interview on light therapy testing, and the light lab that we will deploy a lot going forward as well. This is the basic necessity of companies like Light Therapy Insiders, getting insurance that you're getting the right wavelengths/power output, etc, on your products
Do LED Face Masks Work? Real Before & After Evidence - Alex did a great job here showcasing the scientifically-validated before & after results of LED masks, and goes through all studies that have visual evidence of those outcomes!
Red Light Therapy For Beginners: AVOID These Mistakes - simple new video that you can send to your friends and family, if they're unaware of the benefits of red light therapy and the space overall!

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: