Red Light Therapy for Myopia? A 2024 Study Caught Our Eye

Red light therapy is often discussed in relation to pain, inflammation, recovery, skin health, and cellular energy. But researchers are also studying it in more unexpected areas. One recent example: myopia control.

A 2024 randomized clinical trial published in Ophthalmology looked at repeated low-level red light therapy for high myopia in children and adolescents (Xu et al., 2024). It’s a fresh and fascinating example of how photobiomodulation research is becoming more precise. Not general. Not one-size-fits-all. But specific wavelengths, specific doses, specific tissue targets, and specific clinical questions.

What Is Myopia?

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a common vision condition where close objects appear clear, but distant objects appear blurry. In children, progressive myopia is often linked to the eye growing too long from front to back. This is called axial lengthening.

That matters because high myopia is not just about needing stronger glasses. Over time, high myopia can increase the risk of more serious eye conditions, including retinal detachment, glaucoma, and myopic macular degeneration. That is why researchers are looking for better ways to slow myopia progression in children.

What the 2024 Study on Myopia Control Looked At

This 2024 study examined repeated low-level red light therapy in children and adolescents with high myopia. The study included 192 participants between the ages of 6 and 16. One group wore single-vision glasses. The other group wore single-vision glasses and received repeated low-level red light therapy. The treatment protocol was highly specific:

650 nm red light
3 minutes per session
Twice daily
At least 4 hours apart
7 days per week
For 12 months

This is important. The study was not looking at general red light therapy exposure. It was studying a specific eye-directed red light treatment protocol, using a specific device, under ophthalmology research conditions.

What Researchers Measured

The main outcome from the study was axial length. Axial length is the length of the eye from front to back. In progressive myopia, the eye often continues to lengthen over time, which can worsen nearsightedness.

Researchers also measured spherical equivalent refraction, which helps describe changes in the degree of myopia. Together, these measurements help show whether myopia is progressing, slowing, or improving.

After 12 months, the control group’s eyes continued to lengthen. The red light therapy group did not. The average axial length change was:

-0.06 mm in the repeated low-level red light group
0.34 mm in the control group

In plain language, the children using single-vision glasses alone continued to show eye lengthening, while the repeated low-level red light group showed a slight average shortening. Even more interesting, 53.3% of participants in the red light group still showed measurable axial shortening after 12 months.

The researchers also found a difference in refraction. The red light group showed a slight average improvement, while the control group became more myopic over the same period. This makes the study especially interesting for anyone following red light therapy research, myopia control, or the future of photobiomodulation.

Why This Study Matters

This study is not important because it suggests red light therapy can be casually applied to any condition. It matters for the opposite reason. It shows how specific this field is becoming. The future of photobiomodulation is not simply “use red light and hope for the best.” It is about understanding:

Which wavelength is being used
Which tissue is being targeted
How long the treatment lasts
How often it is applied
What outcome is being measured
Who the treatment is being studied for

In this case, researchers were studying 650 nm red light for myopia control in children with high myopia. That level of precision is what makes this research worth paying attention to.

A Careful Note on Safety

The safety findings in this study were encouraging.

Researchers reported no severe adverse events, no sudden two-line vision loss, no scotoma, no prolonged glare or afterimages lasting more than 5 minutes, and no macular structural damage detected by OCT during the trial.

However, the authors were also careful to note that longer-term safety still needs more research. This matters because the treatment involved repeated intentional light exposure into the eye. That is very different from using a general red light therapy panel for wellness, pain, or recovery. This is not something to try at home, and should only be considered under appropriate medical or ophthalmology guidance.

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Red light therapy and near-infrared light therapy are being studied around the world for increasingly specific clinical questions. Researchers are looking at pain, inflammation, wound healing, brain health, skin recovery, neurological support, and now even myopia control.

We are learning that light can be used as a biological tool, but the details matter. Wavelength matters. Dose matters. Timing matters. Tissue target matters. Clinical context matters. If you’re interested in learning more, or booking a consultation to experience red light therapy for yourself, please reach out.

Call or text us at 250-208-4218
Email: hello@regenclinic.ca