SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2022
Deconstructing the Ergogenic Effects of Photobiomodulation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of its Efficacy in Improving Mode-Specific Exercise Performance in Humans.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the acute effects of photobiomodulation therapy on the maximum number of repetitions in resistance exercise in young adults.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review on whole-body photobiomodulation for exercise performance and recovery.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of resistance training with/without Photobiomodulation on muscle and respiratory function in difficult-to-control asthma: a randomized trial.Lasers in medical science · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Influence of photobiomodulation on energy contribution in normoxia and hypoxia conditions in amateur runners: a single-blinded and randomized crossover pilot study.Lasers in medical science · 2024Trial
- Photobiomodulation does not improve anaerobic performance in well-trained cyclists.Lasers in medical science · 2023Trial
- Effects of transcranial photobiomodulation on performance and cardiovascular responses in trained cyclists.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Improvements in clinical signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease using photobiomodulation: a five-year follow-up.BMC neurology · 2024Article
- Photobiomodulation as Medicine: Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) for Acute Tissue Injury or Sport Performance Recovery.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Review
- A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials on the Effects of Photobiomodulation Therapy on Running Performance.International journal of exercise science · 2024Review
- Effects of Photobiomodulation Therapy on Performance in Successive Time-to-Exhaustion Cycling Tests: A Randomized Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Trial.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2023Article
- Whole-Body Photobiomodulation Therapy for Fibromyalgia: A Feasibility Trial.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPhotobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) is defined as non-thermal electromagnetic irradiation through laser or light-emitting diode sources. In recent decades, PBMT has attracted attention as a potential preconditioning method. The current meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of PBMT in improving mode-specific exercise performance in healthy young adults.
methodsA computerized literature search was conducted, ending on 15 May 2022. The databases searched were PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, SPORTDiscus, and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database. Inclusion/exclusion criteria limited articles to crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies investigating the PBMT effects as a preconditioning method. The included trials were synthesized according to exercise mode (single-joint, cycling, running, and swimming). All results were combined using the standardized mean differences (SMDs) method and the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were described.
resultsA total of 37 individual studies, employing 78 exercise performance measurements in 586 participants, were included in the analyses. In single-joint exercises, PBMT improved muscle endurance performance (SMD 0.27, 95% CI 0.12-0.41; p < 0.01) but not muscle strength performance (p = 0.92). In cycling, PBMT improved time to exhaustion performance (SMD 0.35, 95% CI 0.10-0.59; p < 0.01) but had no effect on all-out sprint performance (p = 0.96). Similarly, PBMT had no effect on time to exhaustion (p = 0.10), time-trial (p = 0.61), or repeated-sprint (p = 0.37) performance in running and no effect on time-trial performance in swimming (p = 0.81).
conclusionPBMT improves muscle endurance performance in single-joint exercises and time to exhaustion performance in cycling but is not effective for muscle strength performance in single-joint exercises, running, or swimming performance metrics.
Indexed as
Identifiers
35802348What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.