Red light therapy stands out as a Biohack for dogs because of its safety and wide-spectrum of beneficial effects on health.
Illuminating dogs with infrared and near-infrared medicinal wavelengths for 15-20 minutes daily imbues numerous health and longevity benefits, to name a few...
- Stimulates growth, resulting in larger, stronger, and more robust puppies.
- Immunity - enhances the capacity of any animal's immune system to fend off infections and parasites.
- Metabolism - medicinal red light promotes healthy metabolism and weight.
- Anti-cancer - by normalizing metabolism photobiomodulation both prevents cancer and can be used to shrink tumors.
- Stress management - red light has a potent anti-stress effect.
- Promotes healthy mitochondrial function and overall longevity.
A skeptical reader might question...
How is red light "healthy?" This seems like another one of those wu-wu health things...
If you haven't researched red light therapy, it might not make sense intuitively that light impacts our overall health. But there is actually a significant body of science (over 15,000 scientific papers) exploring "light as a medicine." The health of nearly all mammals, us included, fundamentally depends on light from the sun - bereft of it many of us struggle with seasonal affective disorder during the winter.
Mitochondrial function underlies the health of any living thing and red light between the wavelengths of 600 - 1400 nanometers (which we get from the sun) is absorbed by the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase, resulting in optimal Mitochondrial energy production. Upstream of this energy production is cell metabolism and upstream of that is the function of all biological systems. It's easy to see how humans are red light deficient considering how much time we spend indoors away from the rejuvenating light of the sun but you might question...
Why do dogs need red light therapy? They spend a lot more time outdoors.
Yes, dogs get more of the light they need naturally than us, but if you and your dog live in the northern latitudes, your dog's health would be enhanced by getting some more supplemental light, especially during the less sunny winter months. And the toxicity of modernity (air pollution, heavy metals, preservatives, industrial chemicals, antibiotics, EMFs, etc) robs dogs of health and vitality the same way it does us. Do some reading up on red light therapy and you'll come to the same conclusion we have, it's a safe and efficacious biohack for a more antifragile animal.
The science
An American dog study found that Low-level laser therapy reduces time to ambulation in 36 dogs after a herniated disk surgery.
Near-infrared light was used in a brain aging study, Photobiomodulation in animal models of ageing and Alzheimer's disease, which concludes...
this research revealed mechanisms initiated by photobiomodulation at IR1072 that act to re-establish homeostasis, profoundly reduce amyloid load, prevent cell stress and cell death.
An American animal study of dogs and cats identified 665-nm red light as an anti-cancer biohack which promoted animal survival.
These data suggest that non-coherent light sources may be efficacious for photodynamic therapy of spontaneous superficial tumours in animals, representing a cost-effective alternative to medical lasers in both veterinary and human oncology.
Interestingly, there's a placebo-controlled dog study (and, yes, a placebo-controlled dog trial should make you scratch your head) investigating the effects of photobiomodulation therapy on canine elbow osteoarthritis. The photobiomodulation was demonstrated as an effective anti-arthritic measure; decreasing pain and animal lameness. The researchers concluded
Photobiomodulation therapy may present a non-invasive, cost-effective, low risk [osteoarthritis] treatment option.
From "Red Light Therapy" by Mark Sloan
After reviewing a total of 68 studies, most of which were conducted on animals using wavelengths ranging from 632 to 830 nm, the study concluded “…phototherapy, either by LASER or LED, is an effective therapeutic modality to promote healing of skin wounds.” (p. 27)
In a case report out of California observed that Low-intensity laser light-induced closure of a chronic wound in a dog.
A Korean study speaks to the immune enhancement effects, red light interrupted the proliferation of canine Malassezia infection.
Red light therapy enhanced a mobility metric, "peak vertical force" of dogs in a New Zealand 2017 study.
A 2009 Brazilian dog study evaluated the Bone Regeneration effect of Low-Level Laser Therapy (AKA red light therapy). It concluded:
The results of the SEM study showed better bone healing after irradiation with the 830nm diode laser. These findings suggest that, under the experimental conditions of the investigation, the use of LLLT at 830nm significantly improves bone healing at early stages. It is concluded that LLLT may increase bone repair at early stages of healing.
Low-energy laser irradiation reduces formation of scar tissue after myocardial infarction in... dogs
What dogs-lovers and veterinarians are saying...
Stephen Carroll
"I have a 14 year old female Staffy. She is the product of a puppy mill and dreadful breeding practices. At a young age she had both knees replaced with titanium prosthetics and we were told that she had hardly any hip joints and that problems would occur in later life. Well, they did. She needed Lyrica, Previcox, Paracetamol, various injections and other potions. All helped for a while but her limp and discomfort always returned. A local canine Bowen therapist gave us a Red Light Therapy pad to try for two weeks. I was completely sceptical and expected nothing to happen but we persevered. Within five days of x 5 a day application the limp had gone, within two weeks the Paracetamol was stopped and she started to play and interact much more. I purchased a pad for her and she has treatments each day. As we know animals cannot exhibit placebo responses but only respond to what is actually happening to them or in them.....Red Light Therapy is a successful treatment and I has meant my dog has a much better quality of life for very little interruption to her daily routine. I fully endorse this product."
We use on ourself and our dog. Yes, our dog! He has degenerative disk disease and this eases his pain more than his meds do.
I’m a believer in red light therapy!!! Using red light therapy on my dog in the past healed her leg to the point where she no longer required surgery! Now I’m using it for my knee pain!
I bought this for my aging Labrador who has hip issues and then I started using it on myself. It helped my dog tremendously and it's helped me equally as well.
Kylie
"She never fully recovered and always walked with a limp. She also became older than her years and stopped playing with other dogs. I have been using the [red light therapy] wand on her for about eight months, every six weeks. She no longer has a limp and plays like a two year old with my three year old Labrador. Her demeanour has completely changed – it is amazing! I also use it on my Labrador who had developed soreness in her hind end. She too has fully recovered and no longer shows any sign of soreness. I highly recommend this torch for any kind of soreness in dogs."
Christine Webb, Canine Therapist
“I have been using Red Light Therapy pads in my treatments as a Small Animal Bowen Therapist for the past two years. I have seen huge improvements in inflammatory conditions such as painful arthritic joints, cruciate injuries, muscle strains and spasm. It is also a valuable support for performance dogs for warm up and recovery from the demands of trialling..."
These are just a few anecdotes that we found around the web, there are hundreds more out there.
You might wonder if bright red light will bother your dog's eyes. Nope, dogs can't see the red spectrum of light.
Red light therapy is recommended for the duration of your dog's life
You can, of course, manage your dog's health in whatever way you see fit but Boerboels are not cheap and you want your dog to live as long as possible in great health. But we'd enthusiastically recommend getting a red light for your dog. This relatively small investment (a medicinal red light will run several hundred dollars at most) in (your and) your dog's ongoing health will add years to its life and life to those years.
