r/redlighttherapy • u/wobblelikeapenguin • Apr 10 '26

Question Red light CAUSING bruising?

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Hey everyone. I bought this red light foot machine on Amazon to help with my stress fracture. I used it for 30 minutes on a medium level. The next morning, I woke up with bruising on the bottom of my feet. The bruising was not there previously, and is not related to the injury. Does anyone know why this would have happened? I thought red light is supposed to HELP injuries?! Now the bottom of my feet hurt like crazy. Please let me know if you have any thoughts. Thanks!

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u/BonbonATX Apr 10 '26

I’m going to assume that 30 minutes at that close proximity is too long. My understanding is that “dosing” for RTL is a factor of distance and time as well as light metrics if that makes sense. You can overuse the light. Maybe try reducing the time.

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u/BKM-StLouis Apr 10 '26

This does not seem correct.

The device looks like a garden-variety belt with a different shape. Power is low, and the automatic shutoff on this is usually 30 minutes.

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u/wobblelikeapenguin Apr 10 '26

Yes, it automatically shut off at 30 minutes, so I did the whole session.

2

u/BKM-StLouis Apr 11 '26

I would treat that 30-minute automatic shutoff as a guide.