Dec 20, 2025, 4 min read
Photonic therapy (Red Light Therapy) is the application of light that can penetrate through tissue layers or reach deeper into bone in particular areas of skin. Energy formed by the light after it penetrates through the skin is then transformed into electrical energy by the connective tissue under the skin. Light travels in waves and the wavelengths are measured by nanometers (nm), one billionth of a meter.
The color of the light indicates the depth of the wavelength. Blue light has a depth of around 450 to 495nm and is used for treating skin conditions. Green light, with a depth of around 495-570nm, is used for calming, anti-anxiety effects, and treating skin issues. Yellow light, around 570-590nm, promotes overall skin health. Orange light, with a depth of around 590-620nm, is used to boost collagen production, reduce inflammation, and stimulate circulation. Red light, ranging from 620-750nm, is used for pain relief, reducing inflammation, improving wound healing, and treating scars. Infrared energy, non-visible at 750-1200nm, is used for joint pain from chronic conditions and recovery from connective tissue injuries.
This therapy can increase blood circulation to areas where the wavelengths are focused on, stimulating oxygen, increasing collagen, and promoting endorphins in areas of inflammation, pain, stiffness, or injuries, thus aiding the healing process and promoting healthy cell growth. Stimulating cell regeneration and the healing process helps maintain healthy bodily functions. Mitochondria, also known as cellular energy, are stimulated by the wavelengths produced by photonic therapy. This therapy illuminates damaged tissues, stimulating healthy cells to replace the damage caused by sun exposure, injury, or scarring.
Offers natural light designed to support the body's immune system responses, providing relief from pain, swelling, inflammation, and promoting healing for injuries or surgeries. It also helps increase circulation, collagen production, and assists with emergency first aid interventions, wound repair, acupoint and trigger point stimulation, as well as generative tissue and cell stimulation, and increased cellular respiration and metabolism.
It can help manage pain in horses suffering from conditions such as arthritis, muscle injuries, and laminitis. This therapy works by stimulating the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller, and reducing inflammation in the target area. Reduces inflammation by decreasing swelling and improving mobility, benefiting horses with tendonitis, bursitis, and other inflammatory disorders.
The healing process of photonic therapy enhances cellular repair and regeneration, reduces inflammation, and increases blood circulation, aiding in the healing of wounds such as cuts, abrasions, and surgical incisions.
Increasing blood circulation is enhanced by photonic therapy, by helping the blood circulation, allows the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues promoting healing and recovery, which benefits the horse's overall health. Reducing pain, inflammation, and muscle fatigue allows for faster recovery, training more efficiently this is by doing regular sessions of photonic therapy, boosting the horse's overall performance.
Horses involved in competitive sports require assistance in maintaining muscle recovery after training or competition, which involves a heavy workload. Photonic therapy can help reduce muscle fatigue and soreness and promote faster recovery.
Horses with osteoarthritis and joint issues or disorders may benefit from reducing inflammation and pain, potentially slowing the progression of degenerative diseases and helping to maintain joint health. Conditions with laminitis and navicular or similar diseases can be managed by promoting better blood circulation in the hooves, aiding in the health and recovery of hoof structures with photonic therapy.
The calming effect of photonic therapy on horses is by reducing stress and anxiety. This is beneficial for situations like transport, stall rest, vet visits, or competitions. Is non-invasive and is a safe treatment, that has minimal side effects and offers a variety and effectiveness in helping manage horses when it comes tohealth issues and overall health. Photonic health can be used with other treatments and therapies such as massage.
Massage is a form of manual manipulation of soft tissues to relieve pain, tension, and stiffness and promotes relaxation, blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients to tissues. Massage helps improve range of motion and flexibility to help prevent serious injury or help rehabilitation of injury or after surgeries.
There are several benefits that massage helps horses, this includes during the recovery process, providing pain relief, injury prevention, stress relief, increased flexibility and freedom, improved circulation, improved immune system support, and improved posture.
When massaging the muscles this helps to activate the lymphatic system. With activating the lymphatic system the body starts to absorb and eliminate the body’s waste and toxin products. This helps reduce fluid buildup and muscle soreness. Increasing muscle flexibility and improves gait quality and range of motion. This means stride length will be more efficient and the horse's ability to do jumping, endurance, racing, eventing overall lifestyle with increased flexibility will mean a longer happier performing life. Increasing the circulation with massage helps the lymphatic flow system and transfer of nutrients to muscles by massaging placing pressure this dilates the blood vessels and increases blood flow.
Massaging helps to break down scar tissue from injuries, this will help restore better function of the muscle. Direct application of massage allows the muscle to move to help relieve muscle spasms, knots, and tension. Horses also find massaging relaxing especially when they are not in pain no longer in pain.
The benefits of photonic therapy when used with massage is a combination of photonic therapy and massage provides several different benefits like; enhanced healing, pain management, improved circulation, muscle relaxation, stress reduction, maintenance, and performance.
A combination of photonic therapy and massage promotes faster healing of soft tissue injuries, wounds, and post-exercise muscle recovery, photonic therapy accelerates cellar regeneration and repair, and using massage helps with advancing the healing process.
Using photonic therapy and massage can both target pain receptors and reduce inflammation providing more effective pain relief for those horses with chronic pain, arthritis, or musculoskeletal issues. While photonic therapy increases blood flow to targeted areas, using massage as combined therapy enhances overall circulation throughout the body. This helps in aiding nutrient delivery and waste removal throughout the body. Photonic therapy can complement massage to help relax tense muscles to allow massage techniques to work more deeply and more, this will result in the muscles having more range of movement and flexibility.
Using both photonic therapy and massage will create a more positive and enjoyable experience during treatments as they both assist in relaxation and help reduce stress and anxiety.
Doing regular sessions of photonic therapy and massage will help maintain health, prevent injuries, and enhance performance, allowing horses to perform at their best.
To note:
If your horse is injured and requires veterinary care, please contact your vet clinic, we can help by working alongside your vet if they allow.
Massage does not overrule veterinary care. We can work with your vet to design treatment plans to move forward in your horses rehabilitation.
Wheatbelt Equine Therapies
Samantha McClements