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This question is being asked more and more in private practice and within sporting associations by athletes looking to get to the highest performance they can within their sport. Yet as with any new treatment Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) is viewed with scepticism and concern and even in some cases it is being asked whether it is cheating as the effects appear to give the participant such an apparent advantage. There are two main ways to consider the use of LLLT, the first is to look at how LLLT affects performance when used pre event and secondly to consider how it may affect the recovery of muscles post exercise. The question of can and by how much does LLLT affect muscular endurance can be illustrated by a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled crossover trial by Leal (2009), who tested repetitive bicep humeri contractions at 75% of maximal load until failure. A dual wavelength LED probe (of 660/850nm) delivered 41.7 joules pre testing, the results were quite spectacular with a suggested 12.9% increase in repetitions and 11.6% in endured timings. Noticeably the study also suggests that Blood Lactate and C-reactive proteins were reduced post exercise compared to placebo. So put simply use pre exercise increases endurance and reduces toxin build up. As for its use in post exercise muscular recovery a study by Silviers suggests that 904nm irradiation may increase ATP synthesis and thus accelerate muscle healing. The benefit of the use of the 904nm wavelength in recovery is supported by Rizzi, who suggests that post trauma irradiation by the 904nm wavelength blocks the release of Reactive Oxidative Species and the activation of inflammatory pathways and reduces an overproduction of collagen (akin to scar tissue). So reducing inflammation scar tissue formation and speeding up the recovery process Therefore it would appear that access to all three wavelengths would be of benefit to the athlete. Although companies such as Omega and Chattanooga do make multi wavelength probes that would be beneficial and suitable in this case they are only single probe machines, making treatment of multiple muscle groups time consuming. At the moment the only machine the Author can find that has all three wavelengths in a multi probe machine is the Lumimed 900, which is an 8 probe machine with the three wavelengths at a similar power output, which may make it preferable if time constraints are an issue. Sources Leal Junior, E. C. P., Lopes-Martins, R. Á. B., Rossi, R. P., De Marchi, T., Baroni, B. M., de Godoi, V., Marcos, R. L., Ramos, L. and Bjordal, J. M. (2009), Effect of cluster multi-diode light emitting diode therapy (LEDT) on exercise-induced skeletal muscle fatigue and skeletal muscle recovery in humans. Lasers Surg. Med., 41: 572-577. doi: 10.1002/lsm.20810 Rizzi, C. F., Mauriz, J. L., Freitas Corrêa, D. S., Moreira, A. J., Zettler, C. G., Filippin, L. I., Marroni, N. P. and González-Gallego, J. (2006), Effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway in traumatized muscle. Lasers Surg. Med., 38: 704-713. doi: 10.1002/lsm.20371 Silveira PCL, Acordi da Silva L, Fraga DB, Freitas TP, Streck EL Pinho R, 2009, Evaluation of Mitochondrial Respiritory Chain activity in muscle lealing by low-level laser therapy, Journal of photochemistry and photobiology B: Biology, Elsevier Elliott Hayes is a techniology evangelist in the field of lasers and LLLT, or Low Level laser Therapy. Matt Walster M.A.O B.Ed(Hons) B.Sc(Hons) B.Sc(Hons) is an associate who develops technology and treatment protocols for LLLT systems LLLT Laser products
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