Does red light (infrared) therapy speed up recovery?

Short answer

Not with full-body red light. Five studies on full-body panels and beds found no recovery benefit. Soreness eased only in studies that held light directly on the muscle before exercise.

Does red light (infrared) therapy speed up recovery?
'Shine light on your body → faster muscle recovery' — does this formula hold?
Red and infrared light panels and full-body beds are sold on the promise of faster muscle recovery. Does light alone really ease soreness and speed recovery? We checked the studies one by one.
Light applied directly to muscle worked
Used before exercise, it reduced soreness
A 2025 analysis that pooled 19 studies with 672 people found that shining light on muscles before exercise reduced soreness and improved muscle function 24 hours later. A 2024 analysis of 34 trials also found better muscle endurance and strength recovery when light was applied before exercise.
In reps, about 4 more
More than with fake light
An analysis that pooled 12 trials with 346 people found that light before exercise added an average of 3.87 reps to failure compared with fake light. The effect was larger for arm exercises (5.87 reps) than for leg exercises (1.17 reps).
But regular exercisers were different
No clear effect for them
In the 34-trial analysis, the benefit appeared in athletes and inactive people, with no clear effect in people who exercise regularly. In a trial where 16 people got real light on one leg only, fatigue, soreness and jump recovery were the same in both legs.
Full-body light at home did not aid recovery
In all 5 panel and bed studies
A 2025 review of 5 studies with 105 people using full-body light found that none showed better fatigue markers or performance. In 12 people who did strength training, a full-body light bed did not lower muscle damage markers. In 48 people, 20 minutes of light before all-out cycling sprints did not change power.
'Where and when' mattered more than the light
Directly on the muscle, before exercise
The studies that found benefits used laser or LED devices held directly on the muscle before exercise. In a trial of 22 people given laser during an arm workout, muscle damage levels fell, but strength recovered at the same speed as with fake light.
Bottom line: full-body red light does not speed recovery
The benefit came only from light applied to the muscle
Full-body panels and beds did not improve recovery or performance. Light applied directly to the muscle before exercise eased soreness and added reps, but even that effect was not clear in people who exercise regularly.