Red Light Therapy can look deceptively simple. You lie comfortably inside the LumaPod while light surrounds the body. What is happening beneath the surface is much more interesting.
Light behaves differently depending on its wavelength. Some wavelengths are absorbed more readily near the surface of the body, while others travel farther through tissue before their intensity is reduced by absorption and scattering. That is why the LumaPod at Frisco Massage Therapy Recovery & Mobility uses several wavelengths rather than relying on a single type of light.
Our system combines visible red light at 635 and 660 nanometers with near-infrared light at 808, 830, and 850 nanometers. It also includes a separate UVB option that is used for a short period rather than throughout the full Red Light Therapy session.
Light does not stop at a specific depth
When you see diagrams showing one wavelength reaching the skin and another reaching muscle, it is easy to interpret those lines as exact boundaries. Biology is not quite that tidy.
Once light enters the body, photons are absorbed and scattered in different directions. Longer near-infrared wavelengths generally penetrate tissue more effectively than visible red wavelengths, which is one reason near-infrared light is frequently studied for deeper musculoskeletal applications. But there is no precise line where 660 nm suddenly stops and 830 nm begins working.
Skin pigmentation, tissue composition, water content, blood flow, the distance from the light source, treatment intensity and other individual factors all affect what actually happens. Penetration is gradual, not fixed.
That is an important detail when looking at our wavelength infographic. The illustration is meant to show the relative behavior of different wavelengths, not an exact measurement of how far every photon will travel in every person.
[Place “Light Wavelengths & Biological Effects” infographic here]
What does light have to do with cellular energy?
This is where Red Light Therapy becomes especially interesting.
Red and near-infrared light are used in a field called photobiomodulation, or PBM. Rather than heating or physically manipulating tissue, PBM uses light as a biological stimulus.
One of the best studied proposed mechanisms involves the mitochondria, the structures inside cells responsible for producing much of the energy the cell uses. Researchers have identified cytochrome c oxidase, part of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, as an important photoacceptor for certain red and near-infrared wavelengths. Light absorption can influence mitochondrial activity, cellular signaling and production of ATP, the molecule cells use as an immediate source of energy.
That does not mean light simply “charges” your cells like a battery. Cellular biology is more complicated than that. It means that specific wavelengths of light can interact with biological systems in ways that influence how cells produce energy and communicate.
This is the foundation behind much of the research into photobiomodulation and recovery.
Visible red light: 635 and 660 nm
The red glow you see during a Red Light Therapy session comes primarily from the visible red wavelengths.
At 635 and 660 nm, light interacts more strongly with tissues closer to the surface compared with the longer near-infrared wavelengths. These wavelengths have been studied in relation to skin cells, circulation, connective tissue processes and cellular activity within more superficial tissues.
The distinction is relative rather than absolute. Red light does not interact only with skin, just as near-infrared light does not bypass the skin on its way toward deeper tissue. Each wavelength is absorbed and scattered differently as it travels through the body. Research generally supports the broader principle that red wavelengths favor more superficial interaction while near-infrared wavelengths provide greater penetration.
Near-infrared light: 808, 830 and 850 nm
Near-infrared light is invisible to the human eye, even though the LumaPod is producing it during the session.
The 808, 830 and 850 nm wavelengths fall within a range frequently studied for photobiomodulation because they can travel farther through biological tissue than visible red light. That makes near-infrared especially relevant when researchers are looking at muscle, connective tissue, joints and other deeper musculoskeletal structures.
This is one reason we like the combination of red and near-infrared wavelengths for a recovery focused service. Recovery rarely involves only one tissue layer. Skin, circulation, fascia, muscle and the cellular processes supporting those tissues are all part of the same body.
Using several wavelengths provides different opportunities for light to interact with tissue. It does not mean that adding more wavelengths automatically produces better results. Wavelength is only one part of photobiomodulation. Dose, intensity, treatment duration, equipment design and individual biology matter too.
And then there is UVB
UVB deserves its own explanation because it is not simply another version of red or near-infrared light.
UVB is ultraviolet light. One of its established biological functions is helping initiate the process through which the skin produces vitamin D3. UVB in approximately the 290 to 320 nm range interacts with 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin, beginning the conversion process that ultimately produces vitamin D3.
The UVB feature in our LumaPod is therefore not intended to run throughout the full Red Light Therapy treatment. It is available as a short, controlled burst.
That feature may be particularly interesting for people whose lives keep them indoors most of the day. Working beside a sunny office window is not the same thing as being outside because the UVB wavelengths involved in vitamin D production do not pass through ordinary window glass. Seasonal changes can matter as well. During the winter, shorter days, a lower sun angle and simply spending less time outside can all change a person’s natural UVB exposure.
There is an important distinction here. More UVB is not better. UV radiation can damage skin and increase skin cancer risk, which is why we do not treat UVB like the red and near-infrared wavelengths or promote prolonged UV exposure as a vitamin D strategy. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends obtaining adequate vitamin D through diet and supplementation when needed rather than intentionally increasing unprotected UV exposure.
For us, UVB is best understood as a brief, controlled option within the technology, particularly relevant to clients who spend much of their lives indoors or have limited seasonal daylight exposure. It is not a tanning feature, it does not replace evaluation of vitamin D levels, and it is not the foundation of the Red Light Therapy session.
Why combine different wavelengths?
Because the body is not made of one tissue, and light does not interact with every tissue in exactly the same way.
Visible red light offers strong interaction with more superficial tissues. Near-infrared wavelengths provide greater penetration and access to deeper biological targets. Both can participate in the cellular processes associated with photobiomodulation. UVB serves an entirely different purpose and is used separately and briefly.
That is the part of Red Light Therapy that often gets lost when it is reduced to “sitting under red lights.”
The wavelength matters.
The dose matters.
The way the light reaches the body matters.
And the response occurs at the cellular level long before we start talking about what someone may eventually notice in how they feel, move or recover.
At Frisco Massage Therapy Recovery & Mobility, our interest in Red Light Therapy is not based on the color of the light or the novelty of the equipment. It is another way to support the recovery process using a completely different biological input than hands-on massage therapy.
For clients who want another tool in their recovery routine, that is where the science becomes useful.
Reviewed by Aqua Webb, LMT, NMT