Red Light Therapy for Asthma: Scientific Evidence

91.7% of children in the laser group improved in asthma control, compared with 25% in the sham group, in a 2017 randomized controlled trial in Egypt. 48 asthmatic children were split evenly between a group given 12 low level laser acupuncture sessions at 3 sessions per week and a group given sham sessions at the same traditional Chinese treatment points, with the active laser delivered in contact at 780 nm, 800 mW, 800 mW/cm², 9.6 J/cm² and 9.6 J for 2 minutes per point over 28 days. Only the laser group showed a fall in a marker of airway inflammation measured in the breath, the researchers reported. Breathing test values improved and inhaled steroid doses fell in the laser group, while the sham group showed little change.

48 of 50 children with asthma reported better exercise tolerance after low-level laser acupuncture in a 2013 clinical trial in Egypt. 30 boys and 20 girls aged 7 to 18, with an average age of 10.6, each received 10 sessions at 3 sessions per week, delivered at 808 nm and 99 mW for 20 seconds to traditional Chinese treatment points. Scores on a standard asthma control questionnaire rose from 13.9 to 23.3 by 1 month after the final session. 92% of the children were rated as well controlled, and all of them appeared able to stop using reliever inhalers. The trial described the treatment as safe for children with asthma.

A 2006 clinical trial evaluated low-intensity infrared laser therapy applied to the abdomen in patients with bronchial asthma. The laser was delivered at 780 to 1400 nm, and the effect was assessed with blood, urine, and sputum tests alongside breathing tests. Breathing test results appeared to improve after the course, and a hormone measured in the blood returned to its normal range. The authors concluded that the approach reduced the number of breathlessness attacks, helped clear the airways, and shortened how long the illness lasted. Patients tolerated the treatment well, and the authors described it as safe and easy to deliver.

Comparing 3 treatment approaches, a 2004 clinical trial tested low-intensity infrared laser therapy in patients with bronchial asthma and long-term sinus inflammation. 78 patients with moderate mixed-type asthma were split into a group given medication plus laser treatment to the eardrum and the air spaces around the nose, a group given laser treatment over a vein at 630 nm, and a group given medication alone. The trial found the strongest response in the group given medication plus laser treatment, and the weakest in the group given medication alone. The study authors described the approach as nontoxic and easy to use in both hospital and outpatient settings.

152 patients with mostly moderate bronchial asthma took part in a 1996 observational study of helium-neon laser irradiation of the blood added to spa treatment. The laser was delivered into the bloodstream at 630 nm over 24 days alongside the spa program. According to the study, patients showed clinical improvement, better results on breathing tests, and less inflammation by the end of the 24 days.

According to a 1991 observational study, researchers assessed infrared laser acupuncture in patients with long-term obstructive lung disease. 111 patients took part, 61 with bronchial asthma and 50 with long-term obstructive bronchitis, and each received a course of 10 sessions delivered at 890 nm, 1500 Hz, and 2 mW average power over the airways and the main blood vessel to the lungs. Airflow through the airways improved after the course, and the airways appeared to respond better to reliever medicines. Pressure in the main blood vessel to the lungs also appeared lower after treatment.

No statistically significant change in muscle performance followed treatment in a 2019 pilot clinical trial of light emitting diode therapy (LEDT) in patients with moderate to severe asthma. 11 patients with an average age of 38 each underwent 1 LEDT session and 1 sham session 2 days apart, with a 50-diode cluster applied in contact with the front and back of 1 thigh at 830 to 870 nm, 50 mW per diode, 250 mW/cm², 3.75 J/cm² and 37.5 J per muscle group for 15 seconds. The trial found no difference between the active and sham sessions in muscle performance, and no difference in the blood markers of inflammation and cell stress that were measured.