March 31, 2026 Jacky Chan

Hip Pain and Red Light Therapy: What the Research Says

This article is for general education and isn't medical advice. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist before starting any new therapy, especially if you have a diagnosed condition, are pregnant, or take medications that increase light sensitivity.

Hip pain gets in the way of almost everything: walking, sitting, sleeping and training. I hear about it often from the people I work with, and red light therapy comes up more and more in those conversations. This article explains, in plain terms, what's behind common hip pain, what red and near-infrared light therapy is, and how much (or how little) research exists for the hip specifically.

Where Hip Pain Comes From

Mayo Clinic lists a wide range of causes, including:

Arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and joint infection
Soft-tissue problems such as bursitis, tendinitis, and sprains or strains
Hip labral tears and hip fractures
Referred pain from other areas, such as the lower back, including pinched nerves like sciatica

That last point matters. Pain you feel in the hip doesn't always start in the hip, and a doctor or physical therapist can help figure out where it's actually coming from.

When to seek care right away

After a fall or other hip injury, Mayo Clinic advises getting medical care right away if:

The joint looks deformed or out of place, or the leg looks shorter than usual
You can't move the leg or hip, or can't put weight on it
You have intense pain or sudden swelling
You have a fever, chills, or a change in skin color on that leg

What Red Light Therapy Is

Red light therapy, also called photobiomodulation (PBM), uses low levels of red and near-infrared light. Many studies use the older name, low-level laser therapy (LLLT). Cleveland Clinic describes it as thought to work by acting on mitochondria, the energy-producing parts of cells, lists pain and inflammation among uses still being investigated, and notes there isn't enough evidence yet to support most uses.

A widely cited 2017 review in AIMS Biophysics identifies cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme in mitochondria, as the main molecule that absorbs this light, and reports that reduced inflammation is one of the more consistently reported effects, including in many animal studies. It also explains that effects depend on dose, so more light is not automatically better. For more background, see our red light therapy 101 guide.

The Depth Question

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint that sits deep in the body, wrapped in some of the largest muscles you have. That raises a basic question: how much light from a device on the skin actually reaches it? A 2017 computer-modelling study in Lasers in Medical Science found that longer wavelengths travel deeper into skin than shorter ones, but the modelled penetration depths were measured in millimeters, not inches.

Structures on the outside of the hip, such as the tendons and the bursa near the bony point of the hip, sit closer to the surface than the joint itself. Even so, we haven't seen research measuring how much light from a typical home device reaches either one.

What the Research Shows for Hip Pain

Hip-specific research is limited

Compared with the knee, there is much less research on light therapy for the hip. For context, a 2019 meta-analysis in BMJ Open was able to pool 22 placebo-controlled trials of low-level laser therapy for knee osteoarthritis. In researching this article, we did not find a comparable body of trials for hip osteoarthritis, hip bursitis or hip tendon problems.

After hip replacement surgery

The most relevant hip study we found is a 2018 randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Lasers in Medical Science. It included 18 people who had just had a total hip replacement. Active or placebo photobiomodulation was applied at points along the incision 8 to 12 hours after surgery, and pain and blood markers of inflammation were measured before and after. The active group had lower pain scores and lower levels of some inflammatory markers than the placebo group. With only nine people per group and a single short-term measurement window, that's an early signal worth further study, not evidence that light therapy speeds recovery from surgery.

Borrowing from knee research

Some articles assume knee results apply to the hip because osteoarthritis behaves similarly in both joints. That's a reasonable question for researchers to test, but it isn't the same as evidence. The hip is a much deeper joint, so how much light reaches the tissue may differ. Until more hip-specific trials are published, the fair summary is that red light therapy for hip pain has not been well studied.

Movement and Strength Training

Exercise has been studied far more for hip osteoarthritis than light therapy has. Cochrane's 2026 review of exercise for hip osteoarthritis found that, compared with no treatment, usual care or limited education, exercise probably leads to small improvements in pain and joint function, though these may not be noticeable in daily life. The authors also called for more and better-designed studies focused specifically on people with hip osteoarthritis. That's a modest, honest result, and it's one reason a plan from your physical therapist should be specific to you.

In general training terms, a hip-friendly program usually includes:

Strength work for the glutes and the muscles around the hip, such as bridges and side-lying leg raises
Gentle mobility work within a comfortable range
Walking or other low-impact activity built up gradually
Paying attention to how the hip feels over the next day or two and adjusting from there

If you have a diagnosed hip condition, have had surgery, or your pain changes how you walk, get the specifics from your doctor or physical therapist before adding load.

If You're Thinking About Trying It at Home

Talk to your doctor or physical therapist first, especially if you have a diagnosed condition or recent surgery.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for session length, distance and frequency. There is no established home dose for any hip condition.
Protect your eyes. Cleveland Clinic advises shielding your eyes when using at-home devices.
Check with your doctor if you're pregnant, have a light-sensitive skin condition, or take medications that increase light sensitivity.
Don't let it delay care. Hip pain after a fall, a leg you can't put weight on, or fever with hip pain needs medical attention.
Keep expectations realistic. Cleveland Clinic says red light therapy appears safe when used short-term and as directed, but the long-term safety of these devices isn't yet known.

If you're curious what at-home devices look like, you can browse our red light therapy collection. We're glad to answer questions about a device's specs, but decisions about your hip belong with your doctor or physical therapist.

Sources

Written by Jacky Chan, certified personal trainer, stretch therapist and massage therapist, and founder of Peak Flow Fitness. Have a question about the equipment in this guide? Contact our team.

Filed in: hip osteoarthritis, hip pain, joint pain, photobiomodulation, recovery, red light therapy

Previous article Red Light Therapy and Wrist Pain: What the Research Says (and Doesn't)

Next article Knee Pain and Red Light Therapy: What the Research Says