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

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.