Using Pre-Exercise Photobiomodulation Therapy Combining Super-Pulsed Lasers and Light-Emitting Diodes to Improve Performance in Progressive Cardiopulmonary Exercise Tests

Abstract

Context: Skeletal muscle fatigue and exercise performance are novel areas of research and clinical application in the photobiomodulation field, and positive outcomes have been reported in several studies; however, the optimal measures have not been fully established.Objective: To assess the acute effect of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) combining superpulsed lasers (low-level laser therapy) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on muscle performance during a progressive cardiopulmonary treadmill exercise test.Design: Crossover study. Setting: Laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Twenty untrained male volunteers (age ¼ 26.0 6 6.0 years, height ¼ 175.0 6 10.0 cm, mass ¼ 74.8 6 10.9 kg).Intervention(s): Participants received PBMT with either combined superpulsed lasers and LED (active PBMT) or placebo at session 1 and the other treatment at session 2. All participants completed a cardiopulmonary test on a treadmill after each treatment. For active PBMT, we performed the irradiation at 17 sites on each lower limb (9 on the quadriceps, 6 on the hamstrings, and 2 on the gastrocnemius muscles), using a cluster with 12 diodes (four 905-nm superpulsed laser diodes with an average power of 0.3125 mW, peak power of 12.5 W for each diode, and frequency of 250 Hz; four 875-nm infrared LED diodes with an average power of 17.5 mW; and four 640-nm red LED diodes with an average power of 15 mW) and delivering a dose of 30 J per site.Main Outcome Measure(s): Distance covered, time until exhaustion, pulmonary ventilation, and dyspnea score.Results: The distance covered (1.96 6 0.30 versus 1.84 6 0.40 km, t 19 ¼ 2.119, P , .001) and time until exhaustion on the cardiopulmonary test (780.2 6 91.0 versus 742.1 6 94.0 seconds, t 19 ¼ 3.028, P , .001) was greater after active PBMT than after placebo. Pulmonary ventilation was greater (76.4 6 21.9 versus 74.3 6 19.8 L/min, t 19 ¼ 0.180, P ¼ .004) and the score for dyspnea was lower (3.0 [interquartile range ¼ 0.5-9.0] versus 4.0 [0.0-9.0], U ¼ 184.000, P , .001) after active PBMT than after placebo.Conclusions: The combination of lasers and LEDs increased the time, distance, and pulmonary ventilation and decreased the score of dyspnea during a cardiopulmonary test. Key Words: low-level laser therapy, light-emitting diode therapy, fatigue, progressive-intensity exercise Key PointsPhotobiomodulation therapy combines the use of superpulsed lasers and light-emitting diodes. When applied before a progressive cardiopulmonary exercise test on a treadmill, photobiomodulation therapy increased distance covered, time to exhaustion, and pulmonary ventilation and decreased dyspnea sensation in healthy volunteers.

What is the best moment to apply phototherapy when associated to a strength training program? A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

“…The time window of 5 to 10 min between irradiation and the exercise protocol was selected based upon previously observed positive outcomes with this phototherapy device in clinical studies [18,44,45] when used in a time window of 3 to 20 min. However, this may not be the only appropriate time window that will elicit positive outcomes.…”

Photobiomodulation in human muscle tissue: an advantage in sports performance?

“…Miranda et al [52] (level 1b) also conducted a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of PBM using a cluster probe with laser diodes (905 nm) and LEDs (640 nm and 875 nm) on cardiopulmonary exercise tests. The authors reported increases in the distance covered, time to exhaustion, ventilatory rate and less dyspnea when active PBM was applied on 9 sites of the quadricesps femoris muscles, 2 sites of the hamstrings and 2 sites on gastrocnemius muscles immediately before (muscular pre-conditioning) the cardiopulmonary exercise test.…”

“…Regarding exercise performed on a treadmill, the PBM effects on oxygen uptake or ventilatory responses, time of running, and muscle damage (CK) were more pronounced with light doses (J) ranging from 360–510 J applied on the body (mainly the lower limbs [50,52], plus trunk and upper limbs [51]) [Figure 8]. The light power and total time of irradiation ranged from 131.25 mW to 2500 mW and 360 seconds to 3876 seconds, respectively.…”

Does the combination of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) and static magnetic fields (sMF) potentiate the effects of aerobic endurance training and decrease the loss of performance during detraining? A randomised, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

“…Ergospirometry is currently the most accurate cardiorespiratory fitness test [29]. In this study, we used a progressive treadmill protocol previously used by our research group [25,[30][31][32]. An ergometric treadmill model Super ATL AQ5, and a gas analyser model VO2000, which was connected to a microcomputer for data visualisation and recording were used.…”

“…After the warm-up phase, the speed was increased by 1 km/h every minute until a maximum speed of 16 km/h was reached. The end of the test was defined by the volunteers, who were instructed to perform the test until they reached exhaustion [25,[30][31][32]. The recovery phase then began, lasting 3 min at a speed of 6 km/h.…”