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Deep Tissue (or red light) Laser Therapy
Has anyone tried this red light therapy and, if so, has it been successful. I understand that these treatments break down collagen and reduce fibrous tissue. The treatments are done by physical therapists so you need a prescription from your pulmonologist. So everyone, let me hear your thoughts.
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45 Replies
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I just bought one on Amazon. Going to start using it. No need for prescription!
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Nina, how is it used?
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The ones online are not Class IV lasers which is what the chiropractors have. They may not be as strong, and not penetrate as deep. But please let us know if you feel a benefit from using the one you bought. You never know…
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@zebra4018
Hi Millie, et al.,It has to be a class 4 laser and there are some here who have used it for a long time. Search for laser topics on the forums. Also Dr. Andy Hall is an expert and he has IPF. He has the correct protocol. I used it for a few months in Virginia and did not need a prescription. It did help but I left the USA and there is no class-4 over here.
Stay well…
Steve-
Amazon has the red light lasers and they look more like heating pads and are reasonably priced. Hooga, which is highly rated, has panels that are free-standing and though more expensive are still within a price that is affordable. I’ve read that this red light laser therapy increases collagen. (It is also supposed to break up the scar tissue.) That is not something I want to do as the problem with PF is too much collagen being produced by the body and forming the scar tissue in the lungs. Cam someone out there with expertise in this area straighten me out on this important fact.
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I’m not sure, but I don’t think it’s that the body has too much collagen, it’s that the body takes the collagen for scar tissue.
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The lungs are made of collagen. Rheumatoid arthritis attacks collagen and causes scarring. I don’t think having more collagen would be a good idea.
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Steve how soon before you felt relief? My dad has been having it done three x week. He had 23 sessions. Before that he was getting the hand-held class 4 laser for about a month, also 3 x week. He is a little less fatigued, but not sure if it’s from the laser.
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I am also very interested in laser therapy. Don’t want to increase collagen for sure. When we have used it in the dogs it was for healing wounds etc,so why is this different?
conni borwick
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I have been using one for five months. Mainly for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Myopathy. I think it also helps my Pulmonary Fibrosis, which has had no change during the period.
Currently use a Mitoredlight 1500 panel daily for 20 minutes front and back.
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Hi all! We have been getting Deep Tissue (Red light) therapy for my dad for months now and it has been significantly helping. We are currently getting it done via a Physio Clinic. I have a 6pg study, I can share on this, so please DM me and I can email to you!
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dear Priya,
Your experience with deep tissue laser therapy sounds very interesting and as I am with IPF for 3/5 years now and progressing, I would really like to try it out. could you send me the article you mentioned, and do you know the name of the device used at your physio clinic?
Thank you
best wishes.
Prof Ilan gruenwald
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Hi Priya,
Could you please email me the 6pg study?
Thank you so much in advance.
Also I was wondering if you knew the device that they are using on your Dad at the Physio Clinic please?
Thank you again.
Warmest wishes,
Kaye Hollingsworth
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Hi Priya,
I’d appreciate it if you would send me the article. My husband has PF, probably IPF, dx last year and we are looking at options.
Thanks, [email protected]
Barb Eisele
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Hi Priya,
Still hoping you can email me your study please?
Many thanks,
Kaye-Maree 🙂
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Could you please email me the study you have and any additional information. Thanking you in advance!
Lisa Neal
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Hi Priya,
I am so glad your Dad is doing well with the red light treatment. I too would be very interested in the 6 pg. study report you mention. Please email it to me.
Many thanks,
Brenda Cozy
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Can you please email this study to me at: [email protected]. Thank you so much!!! Karl Dinse.
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Priya….I would be interested in seeing the study you mentioned that discusses the use of red light therapy for IPF. Thank you for sharing.
Mel Koenig
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HI,
I KNOW A GUY WHO HAS IPF AND HE’S BEEN JUSING IT FOR AROUND SIX MONTHS, AND HIS BREATHING TESTS HAVE IMPROVED. HE STILL HAS A PROBLEM WITH COUGHING.
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is there a way i can contact your friend?
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I was taking daily supplements of collagen before being diagnosed with IPF. Wonder if he collagen supplements had anything to do with my IPF.
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I don’t think that would matter. I think the body would take whatever collagen is there, and there is always collagen. In other words, I don’t think it matters how much collagen is in your body. I asked my dad’s pulmonologist if it would be okay for him to take collagen supplements for extra protein, and he said it would be fine.
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Hello, I have a class IV laser. It emits near infrared light which decreases pro inflammatory cytokines and increases anti inflammatory cytokines. In terms of efficacy, I had significant ground glass opacities, now I don’t… I feel amazing.
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Hi Liz, can I’m just wondering what your symptoms were before the laser? My dad just had two months of it, but hasn’t felt much improvement, if at all. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t done something good. He has fibrosis after doctors took the “do nothing” approach with his COVID pneumonia. What was your diagnosis?.
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Hi Liz,
Could you please give me the brand of your class IV laser? I have the same significant glass opacities that you have described and would love to try it out please.
Thanks so much.
Take care,
Kaye Hollingsworth
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Hi Everyone, I use red light therapy for several reasons and love it. Platinum LED Therapy Lights has a wealth of information on their site you may want to read. (Not sure why some of you are calling it a laser. It’s not.) So make sure you educate yourself before buying anything. I believe because it works on a cellular level and reduces inflammation, it has to help. Platinum BioMax is the one I own.
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Hi, do you know what the Biomax does different than the other light therapy panels. It’s so expensive.
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Not really that expensive if you just get one panel, plus you own it so you’re not paying for each visit. From what I understand, consistency is most important so you’d want to keep doing it. I use mine 5 to 7 days a week for 20 minutes each time. That’s all you need for your lungs/face area. Sorry I don’t know about the other type (laser?).
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There is a red light laser therapy, and red light therapy. Apparently they work in different ways, so it’s worth trying both of them.
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That’s what we bought. We have 4 panels of the BIOMAX 900
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Hi ya’ll, My nephew has found a Quinear at the Sinoriko store that has a Red Light therapy device and it reads 13 pcs X 650n power +4 timer that’s handheld. Does that sound like what you all are talking about?
Chuck -
Interesting. I’ve been using red light therapy for years, but of course, not the medical grade laser. However, my neurologist was facing carpal tunnel surgery until his friend, a chiropractor, lent him his laser, which did break up the tightness and my neurologist was able to avoid the surgery. I asked him about using it for my lungs, so he consulted with the other Dr. and they said no. It would not penetrate deep enough. This has been about 7-8 years ago, so it sounds like there has been more development in the penetration of medical red light lasers.
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It could be that the lasers are better, or, that they know more about them. I’m glad many chiropractors are now using laser and red light therapy for lungs.
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Thanks Rhonda for your input. I see my Pulmonologist tomorrow (Friday) and will ask her about the laser stuff. Chuck
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Hello, I understand from my wife, with the treatment with esbriel. they cannot carry sunlight and less infrared on the skin. I don’t know what you guys can think.
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I know everyone is saying class 4 laser is what you’ve got to have but when you look at the studies they did they use cold lasers. Can anyone clear that up for me?
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Not ‘everyone’, Class 4 is not the sole solution espoused to improve lung health.
– LED mats have believers (low power but long sessions)
– there are Class 1 success stories about Covid patients e.g. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8617935/
A hot laser is a surgical instrument i.e. a laser scalpel. A cold laser does not cut, and can be of any class.
Lasers are defined by Class aka power. Class 4 lasers are the highest power and can penetrate deeper than lower classes.
The lungs are well protected by ribs and body so it is unlikely that anything but a Class 4 laser can penetrate that far, and not all modes of a Class 4 laser can reach that deep. LED mats are not high power, but some believe using them has improved their lung health, so maybe long sessions make up for the lack of power.
Cold lasers are not without risk. Holding a Continuous Wave laser too long in one place can cause burns, and Class 4 lasers especially should be constantly moving to prevent accidents. Pulsed lasers can be held in place, they generate very short bursts which are safe to the skin.
The higher the classification, the higher the power, so a CW Class 4 laser can burn the skin in a shorter time than a lower Class will.
LLLT (Low Level Laser Therapy) does not necessarily mean ‘laser’ because most of the LLTL devices today are LEDs. PBMT (Photobiomodulation Therapy) covers both lasers and LEDs. These acronyms have more cachet than the original term of ‘red light therapy’. The most accurate term to cover all the different uses and applications is ‘light therapy’ because not all light is red, blue light is used for healing also.
Wavelength also is a factor in laser usage, both for depth of penetration and healing effect.
Light therapy has more support and less opposition in Europe than the US, and you can find papers and studies which say light therapy should be investigated as a useful tool for lung health. To qualify as a useful tool requires studies, studies require money, and a trial requires even more money. Pharmaceutical companies pursue chemical solutions, so they have no incentive to investigate light therapy.
It is unlikely that any clinical progress will occur unless a laser company/cooperative decides to pursue light therapy as a growth industry.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Introduction: Photobiomodulation therapy, alone (PBMT) or combined with a static magnetic field (PBMT-sMF), has been demonstrated to be effective in the regeneration of tissues, modulation of inflammatory processes, and improvement in functional ...
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I have been using Red Light Therapy for about 7 years for other reasons. I’m 74 and was diagnosed with IPF in November 2020. I believe I started using the Red Light Therapy for my lungs in 2021 not knowing if it was going to help or not. I did change Pulmonologist January 2023 at which time my FVC level was at 1.99. I just had a PFT in May 2025 and my FCV level has increased to 2.12. I’m definitely maintaining which is great. My appointments with my Pulmonologist seem to get shorter/better as time goes on. All I can say is that the Red Light Therapy is not hurting me. Mind you I’m also taking 150 Ofev twice a day and do 3 miles on the treadmill 3 times a week plus weights. I’m believe all things are contributing to me maintaining my IPF.
Here is the link to the most recent Red Light Therapy pad that I purchased from Amazon. I try to use it twice a day for 30 minutes each session.
Hope you figure out what will work best for you.
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I’ve been getting laser therapy for 12 sessions. And they are $50 each, so I bought my own. I got a power full one. Made in AMERICA. It’s not the ones that you see on line. Most of them are weak. They say class 1V but they aren’t. They show pictures of people using them. And the people are far away from the unit. If you are one inch away it’s 28% less effective and the way the people are using them they aren’t doing any good. I bought a LZR Ultra Bright 20W it’s supposed to be as good as the class 1V. I’ll tell you in a few weeks or so if I think this is working. This one is $3500 but at $50 a session it will pay for itself. And I can use it everyday. The owner of the company told me that I can do it 2-3 times a day. And at $50 it will pay for itself quickly.
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I am a retired chiro and have used laser in my practice and my own therapy. The one watt (1000mw) output is the standard for separating class 3 and class 4 lasers. “Cold” lasers are generally described as class three and below. Therapeutic doses are generally limited to 3-10 lumens at target tissue. above that, the dosage actually has an inhibitory effect on mitochondrial production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). If one is thinking of using this therapy you should read a primer about low level laser therapy(lllt or photobiomodulation). If one is targeting lung tissue, I would think you want to calculate your treatment to deliver the therapeutic dosage to the tissue depth of 1-2 inches? There is some research on the net regarding the use of lasers to combat the “citokine storm” associated with covid-19 infection. It shows the target treatment zones both anterior and posterior over the lung tissue. I would love to have any correction or feedback about this info, but hopefully LI have added some direction to this area of inquiry😊. fwiw I have an older THOR laser with 1w output, so i figure I am delivering about 1 lumen per second to the skin. because of the power dissipation at tissue depth, it takes about a minute over a given sit to deliver a dose. Remember bone is no hinderance to LLLT. but hair and air is, funny huh?
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I want to say something here. I don’t know who to say this to. But someone posted that they bought herbal medicine from a herbal clinic. The doctor is Dr. Singh. It was $400 for a 6 month. They only would take money by zell or other cash payments, I had a credit card but they wouldn’t accept it. I should have known then that it was dishonest. A week later they emailed me and said that it was at the Dallas Fort Worth airport at the customs center. They needed another $310.50 to get it through customs. Also they said it’s the first time this had ever happened. After a few emails they said they would be so kind as to pay 50% of it. If I paid 50% I would be out another $150. I said it’s their problem not mine. Have them return the package, and give me back my money. Someone on this site doesn’t have the disease, they are scammers so be real careful. Being on this site, I thought we were helping each other. I would like to know if anyone has bought from these people. So be careful.
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Dear Priya,
Please email me the study you mentioned. [email protected]
And thank you for sharing your info and experiences.
John
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My husband bought us the Platinum LED BIOMAX 900 which is medical grade (no rx required) I use it daily 20 minutes front, 20 minutes back. Not sure if it’s helping or not. My next CT scan is in December. So far I have had minimal progression, but that was before the red light therapy.
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I bought a LZR Ultra BrightHand Held Optical Red Light Therapy Device.It delivers Class 4 Laser Power With Class 2 safety . It’s absolutely Amazing.You can use it on your arms, face, hands all over your body. I used it on my arms and it took the sun spots off. And you can use it on your pets. Best of all it’s AMERICAN MADE. It’s not this Chinese junk that you can buy on Amazon. And you can talk to the man that’s been in the business for forty years. You can talk to him personally. His name is KALON PRENSKY ,phone number 808-870-0348 He’s in HAWAII. So he’s 3 hours behind the west coast. So be careful when you call because of the time. I promise you that you’ll be happy if you buy this. He’s the most informative person that I’ve talked to about these machines. And you can call me if you want to. Bill Opsahl 239-229-8681
Thank you
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