Green Light Therapy for Pain and Pain-Related Psychosocial Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Human Studies
Year: 2026
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Background/Objectives: Pain and psychosocial distress are highly prevalent across acute and chronic medical conditions and may negatively affect quality of life, treatment adherence, and clinical outcomes. Green light therapy has emerged as a non-pharmacological intervention that may modulate neural, inflammatory, and sensory pathways involved in nociception and affective processing. This systematic review evaluated the current human evidence on green light therapy for pain, with consideration of pain-related psychosocial outcomes. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PsycINFO for English-language human interventional studies of green light therapy reporting pain. Records were screened in Covidence by independent reviewers using predefined eligibility criteria. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool for randomized studies and Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for non-randomized studies. Certainty of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. Results: Of 2040 citations identified, 13 studies met inclusion criteria (9 randomized controlled trials, 4 non-randomized studies; 668 participants). Clinical populations included migraine, dental anxiety, fibromyalgia, autism spectrum disorder, and retinal examination discomfort. Most studies reported findings favoring green light, providing an encouraging evidence base that would be strengthened by future blinded, controlled designs. Certainty of evidence was very low for all outcomes across both comparisons. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests green light therapy is a promising and accessible nonpharmacological approach for pain or pain-related psychosocial outcomes but remains insufficient to establish the efficacy of green light therapy. Well-designed, adequately powered, pre-registered, sham-controlled trials with blinded outcome assessment represent a clear and achievable path toward establishing its clinical role.
Source: Journal of Clinical Medicine
DOI: 10.3390/jcm15145710
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Funders: Roche Canada, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Wellcome Trust, International Development Research Centre, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Queensland University of Technology, National Natural Science Foundation of China, King Saud University, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Ministero della Salute, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, National Research Foundation of Korea, Regione Campania, Vetenskapsrådet, Harry Crossley Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, Agency for Defense Development, Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, Norges Forskningsråd, Universitatea de Medicina și Farmacie Grigore T. Popa - Iasi, Umm Al-Qura University, King Khalid University, Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung, Xinjiang University, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Piastów Slaskich we Wroclawiu, Fakultet Medicinskih Nauka, Univerziteta U Kragujevcu, Universidad de La Sabana, Innovációs és Technológiai Minisztérium, Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory, Eisai Canada, National Institutes of Health, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, Amgen Canada, Pfizer Canada, Takeda Canada, Natural Environment Research Council, Health Technology Assessment Programme, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society, H2020 European Research Council, Higher Education Commission Mauritius
OpenAlex ID: W7169852064