Exercise performance / dosing

Clinical and scientific recommendations for PBM in exercise performance and recovery

Leal-Junior ECP, Lopes-Martins RÁB, Bjordal JM. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy. 2019.

Source

This recommendation article synthesized systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and RCTs to guide PBM use in exercise performance enhancement and post-exercise recovery.

Evidence grade

moderate

Effect direction

positive

Panel relevance

partially-replicable

Key findings

  • The authors emphasized that PBM has a dose therapeutic window for exercise performance and recovery.
  • Recommendations were based on systematic reviews with meta-analysis and randomized controlled trials rather than animal studies or case reports.
  • The article is useful for warning consumers that more light is not automatically better.

Protocol details

WavelengthsNot reported nm
IrradianceNot reported mW/cm2
FluenceNot reported J/cm2
Session timeNot reported minutes
FrequencyDepends on exercise context and device
DurationDepends on exercise context and device
Treatment areaTarget muscles involved in the exercise task
Device typeLow-level laser and LED PBM devices

Caveats

  • This is a recommendations review, not a single trial protocol.
  • Therapeutic windows derived from clinical devices may not transfer cleanly to large home panels without irradiance and area calculations.