Red Light Therapy for Dogs: Pain Relief and Hot Spots
Red light therapy helps with pain and healing in dogs. It is noninvasive, nontoxic, and drug-free, making it safer than some alternatives. Veterinarians were some of the first people to adopt red light therapy. They are more likely to refer to it as a “cold laser.” They use it to help dogs with cellular energy, inflammation, and pain relief.
Takeaways
- Red light therapy helps relieve the pain of arthritis and inflammation
- Red light therapy is safe, effective, and non-invasive in dogs and humans
Benefits of Red Light Therapy for Dogs
Red light therapy can help with the dog’s healing, pain relief, and skin conditions. Veterinarians were among the first groups to adopt red light therapy after its invention in 1967. Back then, the term for it was “cold laser.” Veterinarians used light therapy for horses and, eventually, red light therapy for pets. Several studies (see references below) showed that red light therapy on dogs was effective for arthritis pain relief, wound healing, hot spots, and emotional distress.
Accelerated healing
Red light therapy can help speed up the healing process of dogs’ wounds, incisions, and post-operative sites. Increasing blood flow to the area and stimulating cellular regeneration can promote faster tissue repair and minimize scar formation.
Pain Reduction
Dogs suffering from arthritis, joint pain, or musculoskeletal injuries can benefit from light therapy. The gentle light wavelengths penetrate deep into the tissues, reducing inflammation and calming nerve endings, resulting in pain relief and increased mobility for our four-legged companions.
Red light therapy helps with the dog’s:
- arthritis pain
- muscle pain
- nerve pain
Skin Conditions
Red light therapy can effectively treat various skin conditions in dogs, such as hot spots, dermatitis, and allergic reactions. Promoting circulation and reducing inflammation aids in healing skin lesions, reducing itching, and restoring the skin’s natural balance.
Red light therapy helps with the dog’s:
- hot spots
- dermatitis
- allergies
- skin lesions
- itching
- wound healing
- scar prevention and reduction
Emotional Soothing
Just like humans, dogs can also experience anxiety, stress, and depression. Red light therapy has been shown to have a calming effect on dogs, promoting relaxation and reducing stress-related behaviors by releasing endorphins in their bodies (see sources at the bottom of this article).
Red light therapy helps the dog’s:
- emotional distress
- depression
- anxiety and fear
Safety and Cautions
Red light therapy is non-invasive, safe, and has no side effects. One significant advantage of light therapy is its non-invasive nature, making it a safe and well-tolerated treatment option for dogs of all ages. There are no known side effects, and it can be used alongside other conventional treatments or medications prescribed by a veterinarian.
Precautions:
- Do not shine lights at the eyes
- Do not shine the light on active cancer areas
How Red Light Therapy Works in Dogs
Red light therapy stimulates pain relief and healing in several ways. When light is absorbed in the cells, it stimulates the production of energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The ATP powers healing and repair.
The area where the light absorbs (the mitochondria) signals to reduce chronic inflammation, which has a wonderful pain-relieving effect. The mitochondria release nitric oxide, which then dilates the blood vessels. The improved blood flow contributes to healing and pain relief.
These biological responses help heal soft tissue injuries in ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Inflammation reduction reduces arthritic pain.
- Increases biological battery (ATP) production
- Signals inflammation reduction
- Increases nitric oxide and blood flow
- It clears the way for natural healing
Time Until Relief
The time until relief can be as quick as one session and as long as three weeks. Handheld devices tend to work faster than pads, but that is only a rule of thumb. Sometimes, pads are faster. The time until relief will depend on the dog’s status going in and the quality of the device and treatment schedule. In other words, follow instructions to get the best results. Timing is critical in red light therapy, both time per session and sessions per week. See more information below about how to time the dog’s therapy sessions.
Cost
Almost all lights that work for animals will work just as well for humans. Keep that in mind when pricing your purchase!
- The Visum Flexpad costs $449 to $599, depending on the size. The pads have the same features but differ in size and shape.
- The Novaa Light Pad is $299. The extra large pad is $599.
- The Novaa Extra Strength Laser is $299.
How Often to Treat
The optimal treatment schedule is daily for the first two weeks and every other day thereafter. You could use red light therapy on your dog up to twice a day, with at least 6 hours between sessions. However, this is probably counterproductive. Too much light doesn’t help; it just diminishes the good effects.
How Long to Treat
Light does not penetrate dog fur. There are a couple of ways around this problem.
- Use a handheld to part the dog’s fur to reach the skin
- Assume the fur is blocking some light. Increase the time per treatment.
If the dog’s skin is exposed, treat it for the same time as you would a human. If the treatment time is 10 minutes, do 10 minutes for a dog.
If the dog’s fur is in the way, add 50% to the treatment time. Add less if the fur is very thin and more if it’s thick. You’re using intuition here, as it’s impossible to give you a standard answer without knowing the dog.
- The Visum Flexpad takes 10 minutes for humans, so it should be used for 15 minutes on a typically furry dog.
- The Novaa Light Pad takes 20 minutes on humans, so use it for 30 minutes on a dog.
- The Brandenburg Cold Laser takes 2 minutes to use on humans. If you can’t expose the skin, use it for 3 minutes on a furry dog.
- The Novaa Laser takes 5 minutes to use on humans. If treating a furry dog through the fur, use it for 7 minutes.
Limit Session Length
You can absolutely overdo light therapy. It won’t hurt anything, but it will waste your time. Too much light reduces the beneficial effects to zero.
Conclusion
- Red light therapy is effective for dog pain and skin condition symptom reduction.
- Use the same treatmetn schedule as you would for humans, but add time to the session if the dog is very furry
- Quality red light therapy for dogs costs about $500 on average
- Thousands of studies confirm the effectiveness of quality red light therapy for dogs
References
- Red light therapy pulsed at 10 Hz calms anxiety as well as a pharmaceutical: Salehpour F, Rasta SH, Mohaddes G, Sadigh-Eteghad S, Salarirad S. Therapeutic effects of 10-Hz Pulsed wave lasers in rat depression model: A comparison between near-infrared and red wavelengths. Lasers Surg Med. 2016 Sep;48(7):695-705. doi: 10.1002/lsm.22542. Epub 2016 Jul 1. PMID: 27367569.
- Red light therapy eases back pain in depressed patients: Gabel CP, Petrie SR, Mischoulon D, Hamblin MR, Yeung A, Sangermano L, Cassano P. A case control series for the effect of photobiomodulation in patients with low back pain and concurrent depression. Laser Ther. 2018 Sep 30;27(3):167-173. doi: 10.5978/islsm.27_18-OR-18. PMID: 32158062; PMCID: PMC7034249.
- Red light therapy eases pain and inflammation when used in veterinary practices: Hochman L. Photobiomodulation Therapy in Veterinary Medicine: A Review. Top Companion Anim Med. 2018 Sep;33(3):83-88. doi: 10.1053/j.tcam.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jul 5. PMID: 30243364.
- Red light therapy helps wounds heal faster: Mosca RC, Ong AA, Albasha O, Bass K, Arany P. Photobiomodulation Therapy for Wound Care: A Potent, Noninvasive, Photoceutical Approach. Adv Skin Wound Care. 2019 Apr;32(4):157-167. doi: 10.1097/01.ASW.0000553600.97572.d2. PMID: 30889017.
