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Light-emitting diode phototherapy improves muscle recovery after a damaging exercise

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Abstract

The goal of the present study was to determine the effect of light-emitting diode phototherapy (LEDT) at 630 nm on muscle recovery after a damaging eccentric exercise bout. Seventeen healthy young male volunteers, without previous experience with eccentric exercise, were included in a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial. They were divided into a LEDT (n = 8) and a PLACEBO group (n = 9). To induce muscle damage, subjects performed 30 eccentric contractions with a load of 100 % of maximal voluntary isometric contraction strength of the elbow flexors of the non-dominant arm. LEDT group subjects received biceps brachii phototherapy (λ 630 nm; total energy density, 20.4 J/cm2) immediately after the exercise bout. The LEDT in the placebo group was aimed at the muscle, but it remained turned off. Isometric muscle strength, muscle soreness, and elbow range of motion (ROM) were measured before and at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h the after eccentric exercise bout and compared between groups. Our results showed that the muscle soreness, muscle strength loss, and ROM impairments were significantly reduced up to 96 h after a damaging eccentric exercise bout for the LEDT group compared with the PLACEBO group. A single LEDT (630 nm) intervention immediately after a damaging eccentric exercise bout was effective in terms of attenuating the muscle soreness and muscle strength loss and ROM impairments.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Helder Brito Andrade, Uanderson Silva Piropo, and Max Almeida Muniz for helping with data collection.

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest among any of the authors of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, State University of Southwest Bahia (UESB), Jequie, 45210-506, Bahia, Brazil

    Lucio Santos Borges, Mikhail Santos Cerqueira, José Alberto dos Santos Rocha & Rafael Pereira

  2. University Camilo Castelo Branco (Unicastelo), Eugênio de Melo, 12247-004, Sao Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil

    Luis Augusto Lupato Conrado & Osmar Pinto Neto

  3. Laboratory of Human Movements Studies, Universitary Foundation of Itaperuna (Funita), Itaperuna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Marco Machado

  4. Laboratory of Physiology and Biokinetic, Faculty of Biological Sciences and Health, UNIG Campus V at Itaperuna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Marco Machado

  5. Arena235 Consultoria Esportiva, Sao Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil

    Osmar Pinto Neto

Authors
  1. Lucio Santos Borges
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  2. Mikhail Santos Cerqueira
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  3. José Alberto dos Santos Rocha
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  4. Luis Augusto Lupato Conrado
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  5. Marco Machado
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  6. Rafael Pereira
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  7. Osmar Pinto Neto
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Correspondence to Rafael Pereira.

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Borges, L.S., Cerqueira, M.S., dos Santos Rocha, J.A. et al. Light-emitting diode phototherapy improves muscle recovery after a damaging exercise. Lasers Med Sci 29, 1139–1144 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-013-1486-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-013-1486-z

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