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The Nuts and Bolts of Low-level Laser (Light) Therapy

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Abstract

Soon after the discovery of lasers in the 1960s it was realized that laser therapy had the potential to improve wound healing and reduce pain, inflammation and swelling. In recent years the field sometimes known as photobiomodulation has broadened to include light-emitting diodes and other light sources, and the range of wavelengths used now includes many in the red and near infrared. The term “low level laser therapy” or LLLT has become widely recognized and implies the existence of the biphasic dose response or the Arndt-Schulz curve. This review will cover the mechanisms of action of LLLT at a cellular and at a tissular level and will summarize the various light sources and principles of dosimetry that are employed in clinical practice. The range of diseases, injuries, and conditions that can be benefited by LLLT will be summarized with an emphasis on those that have reported randomized controlled clinical trials. Serious life-threatening diseases such as stroke, heart attack, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury may soon be amenable to LLLT therapy.

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Acknowledgments

Funding: Research in the Hamblin laboratory is supported by NIH grant R01AI050875, Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (DAMD17-02-2-0006), CDMRP Program in TBI (W81XWH-09-1-0514) and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9950-04-1-0079). Tianhong Dai was supported by an Airlift Research Foundation Extremity Trauma Research Grant (grant 109421).

Conflicts of interest

James D. Carroll is the owner of THOR Photomedicine, a company which sells LLLT devices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Hoon Chung, Tianhong Dai, Sulbha K. Sharma, Ying-Ying Huang & Michael R. Hamblin

  2. Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Hoon Chung, Tianhong Dai, Ying-Ying Huang & Michael R. Hamblin

  3. Aesthetic and Plastic Center of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China

    Ying-Ying Huang

  4. Thor Photomedicine Ltd, 18A East Street, Chesham, HP5 1HQ, UK

    James D. Carroll

  5. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Michael R. Hamblin

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  1. Hoon Chung
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Correspondence to Michael R. Hamblin.

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Associate Editor Daniel Elson oversaw the review of this article.

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Chung, H., Dai, T., Sharma, S.K. et al. The Nuts and Bolts of Low-level Laser (Light) Therapy. Ann Biomed Eng 40, 516–533 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-011-0454-7

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