Does Red Light Therapy Help Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? What a Meta-Analysis of 13 Trials Found

Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually managed with splinting, activity changes, or surgery — light therapy is a lower-cost option worth evaluating honestly, including the parts of the evidence that aren't a clean win.

What the research looked at

Published in Lasers in Medical Science in 2025, this systematic review and meta-analysis pooled data from 13 randomized controlled trials of photobiomodulation (low-level laser) therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome. The analysis evaluated three separate outcomes: pain intensity, handgrip strength, and overall hand functionality.

What they found

Photobiomodulation therapy did not produce a statistically significant advantage over control treatment for pain intensity or handgrip strength. It did, however, show meaningful improvements in hand functionality — the measure of how well the hand performs everyday tasks. About 62% of the pooled trials were rated low risk of bias, giving reasonable confidence in the overall analysis.

What this means in practice

This is a nuanced, mixed result rather than a simple yes-or-no: photobiomodulation appears to help people use their hand better day-to-day, without necessarily reducing how much pain they report or how strong their grip tests out at. That's a real, specific benefit — just a narrower one than "light therapy cures carpal tunnel syndrome." It's reasonable to consider as a low-risk complement to standard care like splinting, but it isn't a substitute for medical evaluation, and more consistent, larger trials would help confirm exactly which patients benefit most.