Álvarez-Martínez Mario, Borden Gabriel
Fuel me with Science SL, Valencia, Spain.
Cornell University, Ithaca, USA.
Lasers Med Sci. 2025 Jan 30;40(1):55. doi: 10.1007/s10103-025-04318-w.
Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a non-invasive therapeutic procedure that consists of irradiating a local area of the skin with red and near-infrared lasers or light emitting diodes (LEDs). Local PBM has been studied as a method to improve exercise performance and recovery. This review aims to evaluate the efficacy of whole-body PBM for exercise performance and recovery, comparing its findings to the established effects of localized PBM.
This systematic review was conducted utilising PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EBSCO and Google Scholar, with the search terms (whole-body OR full-body) AND (photobiomodulation OR "light therapy"). We included studies on human participants that used whole-body PBM in the red or near-infrared spectrum, before or after exercise to enhance performance or recovery, and provided a qualitative synthesis of the findings.
A total of five studies were identified out of the 193 screened, with a total of 105 physically active participants, representing both sexes, engaging in different exercise modalities. Two studies reported better sleep quality, as determined by a subjective questionnaire and a commercial sleep tracker, including higher serum melatonin and lower nocturnal heart rate in participants using whole-body PBM. However, none of the five studies reported any benefit of whole-body PBM on biomarkers of fatigue and exercise performance.
Whole-body PBM may improve sleep quality but shows no evidence of benefits for exercise recovery or performance. Further research is necessary to resolve discrepancies with the benefits observed in localized PBM studies.
光生物调节疗法（PBM）是一种非侵入性治疗方法，通过使用红色和近红外激光或发光二极管（LED）照射皮肤的局部区域。局部光生物调节疗法已被作为一种改善运动表现和恢复的方法进行研究。本综述旨在评估全身光生物调节疗法对运动表现和恢复的疗效，并将其结果与已确定的局部光生物调节疗法的效果进行比较。
本系统综述利用PubMed、Cochrane图书馆、EBSCO和谷歌学术进行，检索词为（全身或全身的）以及（光生物调节疗法或“光疗法”）。我们纳入了关于人类参与者的研究，这些研究在运动前或运动后使用红色或近红外光谱的全身光生物调节疗法来提高运动表现或促进恢复，并对研究结果进行了定性综合分析。
在筛选的193项研究中，共确定了5项研究，共有105名身体活跃的参与者，包括不同性别的个体，参与了不同的运动方式。两项研究报告称，通过主观问卷和商业睡眠追踪器确定，使用全身光生物调节疗法的参与者睡眠质量更好，包括血清褪黑素水平更高和夜间心率更低。然而，这五项研究均未报告全身光生物调节疗法对疲劳生物标志物和运动表现有任何益处。
全身光生物调节疗法可能改善睡眠质量，但没有证据表明对运动恢复或运动表现有益。需要进一步研究来解决与局部光生物调节疗法研究中观察到的益处之间的差异。
