SynthesisEBioMedicine2026
Shedding light on pain management: a translational systematic review of light therapy for the treatment of chronic pain.
Synthesis in EBioMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPharmacological options remain the primary approach for chronic pain management; however, alternative multimodal interventions are necessary. Light therapy, which can modulate circadian (24-h) rhythms, has been increasingly explored as a potential treatment for chronic pain; yet, its efficacy and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This systematic review summarises evidence on photoreceptor-mediated light therapy for chronic pain in clinical and preclinical studies.
methodsFour databases (Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) were searched for studies published up to August 29, 2025. Eligible studies evaluated the effects of light therapy on chronic pain outcomes; risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool for clinical populations and the SYRCLE tool for animal models. Studies involving light acting directly on the site of injury or skin were excluded. Outcomes related to pain were synthesised descriptively due to heterogeneity in study designs and interventions. This review was registered with the PROSPERO database (CRD42023429231).
findingsOf 7757 studies screened, 18 studies were included (11 clinical and 7 preclinical). Overall, light therapy was associated with improvements in pain-related outcomes. However, the findings were inconsistent, particularly when dim-light (low intensity illumination) conditions were used as controls. Evidence was limited by methodological heterogeneity, unclear risk of bias in most preclinical studies, and incomplete assessment of circadian rhythms.
interpretationLight therapy may represent a promising non-pharmacological intervention for chronic pain. Current evidence is insufficient to draw firm conclusions regarding efficacy or underlying circadian mechanisms. Further well-designed studies incorporating circadian assessments and individual pain profiles are needed.
fundingThis work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PJT-497592 and MYG-191676).
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