What Actually Helps When You're Sore, Tense, and Dealing With Migraine

Sep 17, 2026

Taylor Berry

What Actually Helps When You're Sore, Tense, and Dealing With Migraines Too

We have used ibuprofen, Tylenol, Advil, CBD creams, Icy Hot, and so on, but in fact, pain management seldom depends on a single solution. Most people who have a busy schedule are not suffering from just one separate issue; rather, they have to cope with a number of problems at the same time, such as muscle soreness caused by training, tension that accumulates during a long day, and, in the case of many people, migraines as well. This was precisely the situation Stina was in when she tried the Vital Pro, as she has a long day that begins at 5 a.m., does weight training four or five times a week, and also suffers from hormonal migraines.

Given that red light therapy has become a growing trend, we find ourselves having to try to work out what it actually can and cannot do for us when it comes to pain management.

Where the Evidence Is Actually Solid: Muscle Tension and Recovery

Red and near-infrared light are taken up by the mitochondria in cells, and there is a sufficient amount of existing research showing how this can affect blood flow, inflammation, and the process of recovery following exercise. A meta-analytic review of photobiomodulation for tendinopathy (a general term referring to any painful condition of a tendon that results in pain, swelling, and reduced function) that involved 17 randomised trials and more than 800 participants concluded that when light therapy is used in conjunction with exercise, it causes a significant improvement in pain relief and in function when compared with exercise by itself.

This is in agreement with the kind of relief people speak about following training—such as tight shoulders, aching legs, and the general tension that accumulates as a result of a physically demanding routine. A article by Hello Lovely Living on the actual health benefits of regular massage looked at the same delayed-onset muscle soreness that appears 24 to 48 hours after a strenuous workout and explained how bodywork deals with it from a different perspective.

Let’s Talk About Migraines

Migraines are not the same as general muscle tension, though the evidence regarding light therapy for headaches in particular is less substantial than one might expect. A review of the randomized trials on photobiomodulation used as an additional treatment for primary headache, including migraine, rated the veracity of the evidence as very low, the majority of the trials in question being at high risk of bias. The straightforward conclusion drawn in that review was that the current evidence is not yet strong enough to justify the treatment, not that it definitely does not work, but that it has not been proven.

There is also a particular warning that's worth being aware of.

Light sensitivity is a genuine and frequent symptom of migraines, and studies concerning exposure to visual light during an active migraine attack have shown that white and red light actually increased the pain experienced by people suffering from migraines, whereas green light caused considerably less aggravation. Although this research looks at light entering the eyes during an attack, which is a different mechanism from using a red light panel on the skin, it still provides a valid reason not to regard red light therapy as a remedy for migraines, and certainly offers a reason not to use it or consider it during an active attack.

If migraines feature in your own experience, we would suggest getting in touch with someone who has actually lived with them and who has written honestly about it; Stina has given an account of her own migraine experience on Hello Lovely Living, listing the specific triggers that she has identified and the remedies which have actually helped her over time.

A Reasonable Way to Think About This

When you're experiencing general soreness and tension as Stina explained, having a red light treatment—used regularly and without aiming it at the eyes—is a sensible and low-risk thing to include in your recovery routine. However, if you suffer from migraines as well, we won't say it will cure them, since the research at this stage doesn't back up that assertion. Instead, what we would recommend is viewing it as just one small element of a more comprehensive strategy, to be used in addition to any methods that have already been helping you, rather than turning to it as a solution when a migraine attack is occurring.

Red light therapy, like Stina!

We'd like to thank Stina for taking the time to consider Vital Pro and for sharing her experience with the world. If you too would like to have the same positive experience with red light therapy as Stina did, you can get your Vital device by clicking here.