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The Evidence for MLS® Laser Therapy:
Regenerative Medicine
Last updated: August 2026
MLS® laser therapy significantly reduced circulating angiopoietin-2 — a marker of vascular injury — and shifted microvascular architecture back toward normal, alongside significant drops in attack frequency, duration, and pain (all p<0.001), in a clinical trial of 78 patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon compared against 30 healthy controls (Kuryliszyn-Moskal et al., 2015).
Across five published studies spanning bone, tendon, muscle, and vascular tissue, MLS® has shown measurable effects on the biological processes underlying tissue regeneration — accelerated fracture healing, collagen reorganization, stem cell modulation, and angiogenic signalling — across one controlled clinical trial, one paediatric case report, one preclinical animal study, and two in vitro mechanistic studies.
Quick summary
Tissue / process Design n Key result Vascular regeneration (Raynaud’s phenomenon) Clinical trial vs. healthy controls 78 patients + 30 controls Attack frequency, duration, and pain all reduced (p<0.001); serum Ang-2 fell significantly post-treatment Bone regeneration (pediatric avulsion fracture) Case report 1 Bridging callus confirmed on MRI at 6 weeks; full return to sport at 7 weeks vs. typical 8–12 weeks Tendon / connective tissue regeneration Preclinical animal study 6 sheep More organised collagen fiber alignment and extracellular matrix vs. untreated control tendon Mesenchymal stem cell modulation In vitro mechanistic study — Significantly increased MSC proliferation and viability at defined energy doses (3J, 10J, 20J) Muscle regeneration (myoblast/satellite cell activation) In vitro mechanistic study — MyoD (myogenic commitment marker) expression up ~20%; mitochondrial metabolic enzyme activity increased How to read this evidence
The studies below are grouped by design, from strongest (a controlled clinical trial) to supporting (a case report, a preclinical animal study, and in vitro mechanistic research). A clinical trial with a healthy-control comparison gives the most reliable estimate of effect in humans; a case report demonstrates a real-world outcome that can’t rule out other explanations; preclinical and in vitro studies establish the underlying biological mechanism without yet proving the clinical outcome in patients. We’ve labelled each accordingly.
Does MLS® laser improve vascular regeneration and microcirculation?
Clinical trial
Raynaud’s phenomenon, vascular and microcirculatory markers. In an interventional clinical trial, 78 patients with primary or secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon received MLS® laser therapy to both hands, 5 days a week for 3 weeks (synchronised 808nm continuous and 905nm pulsed emissions), and were compared against 30 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. After treatment, the number of Raynaud’s attacks, mean attack duration, and pain intensity (VAS) all decreased significantly in both patient groups (p<0.001). Nailfold videocapillaroscopy showed a shift toward normal capillary architecture — the proportion of primary Raynaud’s patients with a normal pattern rose from 55.3% to 73.7% — and serum angiopoietin-2, a marker of vascular endothelial injury that was significantly elevated in patients versus healthy controls at baseline (p<0.001), fell significantly after MLS® therapy across every severity grade of microvascular damage (p<0.05 to p<0.001).
Source: Kuryliszyn-Moskal A, Kita J, Dakowicz A, et al. “The Influence of Multiwave Locked System (MLS) Laser Therapy on Clinical Features, Microcirculatory Abnormalities and Selected Modulators of Angiogenesis in Patients with Raynaud’s Phenomenon.” Clinical Rheumatology. 2015;34(3):489-496. DOI: DOI: 10.1007/s10067-014-2637-8
Can MLS® laser accelerate bone fracture healing?
Case report
Pediatric ischial tuberosity avulsion fracture. A 12-year-old competitive athlete sustained a complete avulsion fracture of the right ischial tuberosity during Australian Rules Football, confirmed on MRI with fragment displacement, hemorrhagic edema, and loss of continuity with the pelvis — an injury that typically keeps young athletes out for 8–12 weeks, and sometimes 6–12 months where recognition is delayed. Alongside standard non-weight-bearing management, he received 26 sessions of adjunctive MLS® Robotic M8 laser therapy over 7 weeks. Follow-up MRI at 6 weeks showed the fragment had reapproximated to its anatomical base with bridging callus formation and resolved edema. He returned to full soccer and Australian Rules Football competition at 7 weeks post-injury, pain-free, without physiotherapy or surgery.
Source: Puertolas C, Puertolas J. “Accelerated Recovery of a Pediatric Ischial Tuberosity Avulsion Fracture with Adjunctive Photobiomodulation: A Case Report.” Energy for Health, 2026;[25]:16-20. Read the case report (PDF).
Does MLS® laser support tendon and connective tissue regeneration?
Preclinical animal study
Collagenase-induced tendinopathy (sheep model). In a preclinical study, six sheep received bilateral collagenase injections to induce lesions in the deep digital flexor tendon; one leg was then treated with 10 sessions of MLS® laser therapy (at either 5 J/cm² or 2.5 J/cm²) while the contralateral leg served as an untreated internal control. At day 37, histological analysis across 540 microscopic fields showed MLS®-treated tendons had more organised, uniform extracellular matrix and better-aligned collagen fibers than untreated tendons, which showed matrix disorganization and increased vascularity. The lower dose (2.5 J/cm²) additionally produced a significant reduction in tendon vascularity and returned fibroblast cell counts to normal, consistent with a shift from acute inflammatory repair toward organised tissue remodelling.
Source: “Effect of MLS® Laser Therapy for the Treatment of Experimentally Induced Acute Tendinopathy in Sheep — A Preliminary Study.” Read the study.
Does MLS® laser activate the stem cells involved in tissue repair?
In vitro mechanistic evidence
Mesenchymal stem cell modulation. In an in vitro study, human bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) — the multipotent cells central to regenerative medicine and orthobiologic therapies — were exposed to MLS® M1 laser irradiation (synchronised 808nm and 905nm wavelengths) at three energy doses (3J, 10J, 20J) in continuous or pulsed emission modes. Irradiation at 3J and 10J (continuous wave, 1000Hz) and at 20J (pulsed, 2000Hz) significantly increased MSC proliferation and viability, while higher-energy or higher-frequency combinations (20J at 1000Hz or 2000Hz, and 3J at 2000Hz) instead reduced viability and triggered a pro-apoptotic effect — showing that MLS®’s regenerative effect on stem cells is real but dose-dependent, with a defined therapeutic window rather than a simple “more is better” relationship.
Source: Pasternak-Mnich K, Szwed-Georgiou A, Ziemba B, Pieszyński I, Bryszewska M, Kujawa J. “Effect of Photobiomodulation Therapy on the Morphology, Intracellular Calcium Concentration, Free Radical Generation, Apoptosis and Necrosis of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells—An In Vitro Study.” Lasers in Medical Science. 2024;39(1):75. DOI: 10.1007/s10103-024-04008-z · PMID: 38383862
Does MLS® laser activate the muscle precursor cells involved in tissue repair?
In vitro mechanistic evidence
Muscle precursor cell (myoblast) activation. In an in vitro study using the C2C12 myoblast cell line — the standard laboratory model for muscle regeneration and satellite cell biology — four consecutive daily MLS® laser treatments (synchronised 808nm continuous and 905nm pulsed emissions, ~12J per treatment) increased expression of MyoD, the transcription factor that commits precursor cells to the myogenic (muscle-forming) lineage, by approximately 20% versus untreated controls, alongside reorganization of the actin, tubulin, and vimentin cytoskeleton.
Source: Vignali L, Cialdai F, Monici M. “Effects of MLS Laser on Myoblast Cell Line C2C12.” Energy for Health, [07]:19-25. Read the study (PDF).
Muscle metabolism under simulated atrophy. In a related in vitro study modeling microgravity-induced muscle atrophy in the same C2C12 line, four days of MLS® laser treatment increased the activity of five separate mitochondrial and glycolytic metabolic enzymes — including malate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, and pyruvate kinase — and produced roughly 150 measurable changes across the cell’s protein profile, supporting a shift toward more active cellular energy metabolism, the process that underlies muscle tissue repair and regeneration.
Source: Monici M. “Muscle Atrophy.” ASAcampus Joint Laboratory, ASA Research Division & Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence. Read the study (PDF).
This page summarises independently published research on MLS® laser therapy for regenerative medicine applications. It is provided for clinical and educational reference and does not replace individualised clinical judgment. Heal with Laser is the exclusive distributor of ASA Laser MLS® technology in Australia and New Zealand.