Faster Muscle Recovery & Less Muscle Soreness with Red/NIR Light Therapy

There’s a large base of clinical evidence showing red light therapy improves physical performance. That’s one major reason so many pro athletes and world-class trainers and fitness experts have incorporated RLT into their workout routine.

But whether you’re an elite pro athlete or a weekend warrior, longer and stronger workouts can translate to more muscle soreness, fatigue, and potential pain & inflammation once you leave the gym. Muscle soreness and joint pain can prevent you from working out, or lead to injuries if you try to push too hard.

Fortunately, natural red light doesn’t just improve physical performance. It also prevents the onset of muscle soreness and fatigue after workouts. Plus, red light therapy is clinically-proven to speed and enhance muscle recovery and growth.

This is why so many athletes and trainers love red light therapy: better performance, less soreness afterwards, and faster recovery so you can get back at it sooner, with less pain and fewer injuries.

This article looks at the huge base of research showing red light therapy prevents muscle soreness and speeds muscle recovery. We’ll also highlight some world-class athletes and fitness leaders using red light therapy.

How Red Light Therapy Fuels Your Muscles

If you’re not familiar with light therapy, this article gives a good overview of what it is and how it works. The short version is this: light therapy delivers safe, concentrated wavelengths of natural light to your skin. These red and near infrared wavelengths stimulate your cells and reduce oxidative stress, so your body is able to make more usable energy to power itself. This increases function, speeds healing, and lowers inflammation & pain, as demonstrated in numerous peer-reviewed studies.

Natural red and near infrared light helps promote antioxidants, which play a central role in reducing the oxidative stress associated with muscle fatigue. Antioxidants also increase the production of heat proteins—special proteins that help protect cells from stress and early cell death. [1,2]

Studies have also identified an increase in circulation following light therapy, indicating tissues are receiving more oxygen and other nutrients important for healing—while also ridding themselves of toxic byproducts. [3]