A systematic review on whole-body photobiomodulation for exercise performance and recovery.

5 Repeated evidence

What this means for you: this is established.

Type of study: meta-analysis or systematic review
Studied in: people
Participants: not stated in the abstract
Published: 2025 in Lasers in medical science
Cited: 4 times by other research
Who paid: Not declared. PubMed carries no conflict-of-interest statement for most articles; that is not the same as independent.
Source: PubMed 39883205 · doi 10.1007/s10103-025-04318-w

The plain-language write-up of this study is still being written. Below is the abstract exactly as the researchers published it.

Abstract by the researchers — original text

PURPOSE: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.