Muscle Regeneration & Reduced Atrophy

As laser can positively affect cell metabolism and blood flow, research has been performed to look at whether laser could affect muscle healing following injury. There are over 120 published articles on muscle injury treatment.
In a review of the available literature Ramon et al. (2018) said the available articles showed positive effects on muscle regeneration, damage reduction, inflammatory process reduction and oxidative stress markers.
They concluded:
“The results show effectiveness in the treatment of muscle injury”
How does laser improve muscle healing?
The main effects of laser on muscle healing are:
- Reduction in the inflammatory process
- Modulation of growth factors
- Modulation of myogenic regulatory factors
- Increased angiogenesis
- Alves et al. (2014)
Studies have explored if phototherapy laser therapy can modulate activity-induced skeletal muscle fatigue or subsequently protect against muscle injury.
In a review article Leal-Junior et al. (2015) reported significant improvements for the main outcome measures related to performance. The time until exhaustion increased significantly compared to placebo and the number of repetitions increased by 5.47 after phototherapy. Quantitative analysis showed positive results in 13 out of 16 comparisons.
The most significant and consistent results were found with red or infrared wavelengths and phototherapy application before exercises. They concluded that phototherapy (with lasers) improves muscular performance and accelerates recovery when applied before exercise.