In this clinical trial, researchers led by Dr. Paulo Roberto Vicente de Paiva investigated the effectiveness of two popular recovery treatments—photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) and cryotherapy—on muscle recovery after intense exercise. The study involved 50 healthy male volunteers who were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: PBMT, cryotherapy, cryotherapy combined with PBMT, or placebo. The researchers measured muscle performance, soreness, and muscle damage at various time points after participants performed a challenging exercise involving eccentric contractions of the knee extensors. The PBMT group, which used a combination of red and near-infrared light therapy, showed the best results in improving muscle performance and reducing soreness and muscle damage, especially between 24 and 96 hours after exercise.
The results revealed that PBMT was the most effective treatment for muscle recovery, outperforming cryotherapy and the combination of both treatments. PBMT alone significantly improved muscle performance, reduced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and decreased creatine kinase (CK) activity, a marker of muscle damage. On the other hand, cryotherapy, whether used alone or in combination with PBMT, showed no significant improvements compared to the placebo group. These findings suggest that PBMT is the optimal treatment for post-exercise recovery, as it helps the muscles return to baseline levels faster than other recovery methods. This study highlights the potential of red light therapy as a powerful tool for enhancing muscle recovery after intense exercise.
