What is Red Light and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Fibromyalgia?
Everything You Need to Know About These Promising Treatments
“The best way out is always through.”
If you’re living with fibromyalgia, you already know the daily struggle. Pain, fatigue, and cognitive fog can make even simple tasks feel monumental. You may have tried countless medications, diets, and therapies with little relief.
That’s where red light therapy (also called photobiomodulation) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) come in. These non-invasive treatments target inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroplasticity — key contributors to fibromyalgia symptoms.
This guide is for you if you want a complete, research-backed overview of how red light and HBOT may help you or a loved one manage fibromyalgia.
What Exactly Are Red Light Therapy and HBOT (and Why Do They Matter)? Some people think red light therapy is just a fancy spa treatment and HBOT is only for scuba divers or stroke victims.
However, red light therapy uses specific wavelengths of light to stimulate cellular repair, reduce inflammation, and modulate the nervous system. HBOT increases the amount of oxygen that can dissolve into your plasma, helping to reach tissues affected by inflammation and low oxygen levels.
These therapies matter because fibromyalgia involves multiple systemic imbalances: impaired pain processing, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and unresolved trauma. Both red light and HBOT address these core mechanisms.
5 Reasons to Understand and Consider These Therapies
Reduced Widespread Pain Studies show that photobiomodulation helps reduce pain sensitivity by modulating pain receptors and promoting anti-inflammatory cytokines (Cheng et al., 2021).
Improved Energy and Mitochondrial Function Red light stimulates cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria, improving cellular energy production. HBOT also enhances mitochondrial efficiency and reduces oxidative stress (Hamblin, 2017).
Cognitive Clarity and Mood Support HBOT has been shown to improve attention, memory, and executive function in fibromyalgia patients, particularly those with histories of trauma (Hadanny et al., 2018; Efrati et al., 2015).
Improved Sleep Quality One randomized trial showed that fibromyalgia patients receiving HBOT experienced fewer nighttime awakenings and deeper sleep (Izquierdo-Alventosa et al., 2024).
Neuroplasticity and Trauma Healing A growing body of evidence supports HBOT’s ability to facilitate emotional healing in trauma survivors through improved blood flow and neurogenesis (Hadanny et al., 2018).
3 Reasons NOT to Explore These Therapies
You enjoy constant pain.
You want to keep spending money on therapies that don’t work.
You prefer side effects over results.
History of Fibromyalgia and Alternative Treatments Fibromyalgia was once considered a psychological disorder, often dismissed by medical professionals. The late 1990s and early 2000s marked a shift in understanding, linking fibromyalgia to central sensitization.
Red light therapy and HBOT have roots in wound healing and sports medicine, but their applications have expanded into chronic pain, neuropsychiatric disorders, and autoimmune conditions over the past two decades.
Important Concepts and Terms to Know
Photobiomodulation (PBM)
The use of red and near-infrared light to stimulate healing at the cellular level.
HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy)
Breathing oxygen at higher-than-atmospheric pressures to increase tissue oxygenation.
Central Sensitization
A condition in which the nervous system is in a persistent state of high reactivity.
Neuroplasticity
The brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections.
The Breakdown: How Red Light and HBOT Work for Fibromyalgia Red Light Therapy acts on mitochondrial cytochromes, especially cytochrome c oxidase, to enhance ATP production, reduce inflammation, and increase nitric oxide for better blood flow.
HBOT involves pressurizing the body to 1.3 to 2.0 ATA while breathing oxygen, increasing plasma oxygen levels. This oxygen-rich environment aids tissue repair, modulates immune response, and promotes neurogenesis. At many clinics, including O&L, sessions occur at 1.3 ATA with oxygen administered via nasal cannula.
Several studies confirm their efficacy:
Efrati et al. (2015) found significant symptom reduction and improved brain activity in fibromyalgia patients after 40 HBOT sessions.
Chen et al. (2023) confirmed HBOT’s safety and effectiveness in a meta-analysis.
Hamblin (2017) and Cheng et al. (2021) highlighted red light therapy’s anti-inflammatory and pain-modulating properties.
Key Takeaways
Fibromyalgia is a complex condition with roots in inflammation, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation.
Red light and HBOT target these root causes in complementary ways.
These treatments are backed by promising research and offer a low-risk, high-reward option for chronic pain relief.
As with any therapy, work with your provider to tailor a plan to your needs.
Sign up for our 2-week unlimited and get 14 days of HBOT and red light sessions to jumpstart your healing. Claim your two week unlimited package now to get locked into the schedule!
