Building on the ground laid by numerous scholars, scientists have continued to study the benefits of red light therapy.
Results have shown that while treatment has side effects that are mild at most, stimulating the ATP with light wavelengths has numerous positive impacts on numerous conditions.
In some of our content, PlatinumLED has made an effort to present the scholarly findings on RLT (red light therapy) in order to share these many benefits.
In this article, we present the findings of a multicenter randomized controlled trial conducted by ‘Ophthalmology,’ a respected journal published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology in which researchers focus on the positive impacts of RLT for treating myopia in children.
After a brief description of this medical condition, we’ll share some of the key details about this study, its findings, and its implications for treating children to reduce the symptoms of myopia.
What is Myopia?
Myopia is a condition that affects vision resulting in nearsightedness, a condition in which objects that are closer to the eye appear clearly while those that are farther away appear blurry.
Myopia sometimes occurs when the eye’s shape causes light to focus in the front of the retina instead of directly on it, which prevents light from being absorbed and sent as a signal to the brain.
Symptoms of myopia include blurry vision when attempting to see at long distances, headaches, eye strain, or feeling the need to squint to see objects that are farther away clearly. Myopia in early childhood can potentially lead to other eyesight issues that can worsen over time.
Although myopia can be genetic, it may also be caused by spending excessive time on screens, reading, or engaging in any activity that requires seeing at short distances.
Aside from red light therapy, treatment options for myopia include using eyeglasses or contact lenses, getting refractive surgery, or using atropine eye drops in children to slow down the progression of myopia.
RLT Myopia Control Study: Setup
In this section, we discuss more details about how this study was set up.
Conducted from July 2019 to September 2020, this study involved 264 children aged 8 to 13 with “myopia of cycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction” whose longer distance sight was observed to measure in between negative one and five diopters.
For anyone interested in using RLT as a therapeutic technique, we recommend reviewing more details about the specific eyesight conditions of the child participants. We recommend reviewing other specific details of the eyesight conditions of the children involved. Those excluded from the study included children with “strabismus, binocular vision abnormalities, other ocular abnormalities in either eye, or systemic diseases,” as were those who had undergone “previous myopia control treatment, including … to atropine therapy and orthokeratology,” (Yu et al., 2022).
The treatment consisted of a 650 nm wavelength emitting at 1600 lux, “administered at home under supervision of parents for three minutes per session, twice daily with a minimum interval of 4 hours, 5 days per week,” (Yu et al., 2022). Treatment was carefully monitored by the parents of the test subjects.
RLT was chosen as a treatment method partly due to its widespread use for myopia treatment in China, which was also believed by the researchers to maximize the safety of the participants. This was based on “anecdotal findings from children who used the device for the purpose of amblyopia treatment, where increased choroidal thickness and blood flow and stabilization of axial elongation were observed,” (Yu et al., 2022).
The study was measured by “changes in axial length and SER measured at baseline and the 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up visits,” (Yu et al., 2022). This allowed researchers to keep track of the progress of treatment over time. A reporting process ensured that researchers checked up on the participants as the study progressed, on a daily basis, to exclude double check that they did not experience any adverse events.
RLT Myopia Treatment: Results
The results of the study found that red light therapy treatment had a positive impact on vision with no observable side effects.
Specific results included axial elongation and SER progression, which in effect, successfully reduced myopia in the children who underwent more intensive RLT treatment.
As a side note, we should mention that treatment times were limited to three minutes per day that did not involve staring directly into the red light therapy diodes. The therapeutic benefits of RLT tend to result from the stimulation of the mitochondria throughout the body and its ability to heal holistically.
In the study, the researchers concluded that “repeated low-level red light therapy is a promising alternative treatment for myopia control in children with good user acceptability and no documented functional or structural damage,” (Yu et al., 2022). The reduction of this condition not only improves vision, but may also reduce the probability of more serious eyesight conditions that can occur later on as a result of worsening myopia.
While these results are decidedly positive, we nonetheless recommend that parents consult with a doctor if they have any questions about red light therapy treatment. This may also include assessing the patient’s particular condition and whether or not, as the study mentions, ‘functional or structural damage’ could detract from its efficacy. As noted above, there were several structural eyesight conditions that excluded individuals from becoming participants in the study.
Additionally, red light therapy is not the only treatment for myopia, although it can help. The researchers noted that simply spending 40 minutes outdoors has a positive impact on myopia treatment. The excessive use of devices, which tends to develop nearsightedness over time, can be counterbalanced by exercising the eyes by requiring them to focus at longer distances.
The researchers also note that, in some cases, educators have made efforts to ensure that children have access to big windows in their classrooms that allow them to see outside and play time that serves as a respite from short-distance seeing environments in the classroom. Lifestyle changes can often be as or more impactful as are intentional therapeutic treatments.
Optimal Red Light Therapy Treatment with PlatinumLED
For more information about how to treat eyesight as well as a myriad of other health conditions, check out the BIOMAX Series red light therapy panels to learn more about the most advanced red light therapy panels on the consumer market.
