Exercise performance / muscle recovery
Photobiomodulation versus cryotherapy for muscle recovery meta-analysis
Ferlito JV, Ferlito MV, Leal-Junior ECP, Tomazoni SS, De Marchi T. Lasers in Medical Science. 2022.
A small meta-analysis comparing PBM with cryotherapy after high-intensity exercise found PBM favored muscle strength, soreness, and muscle-damage biomarkers.
Evidence grade
low
Effect direction
positive
Panel relevance
partially-replicable
Key findings
- The review included four randomized clinical trial articles with 66 participants.
- PBM improved muscle strength and reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness compared with cryotherapy in pooled analyses.
- Certainty ranged from moderate to very low, so conclusions are promising but not settled.
Protocol details
| Wavelengths | Not reported nm |
|---|---|
| Irradiance | Not reported mW/cm2 |
| Fluence | Not reported J/cm2 |
| Session time | Not reported minutes |
| Frequency | Post-exercise PBM in included comparisons |
| Duration | Varied by study |
| Treatment area | Exercised muscles |
| Device type | PBM muscle-recovery devices |
Caveats
- The comparison was PBM versus cryotherapy, not PBM versus doing nothing across a large evidence base.
- Only four articles and 66 participants were included.