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Light-emitting diode therapy (photobiomodulation) effects on oxygen uptake and cardiac output dynamics during moderate exercise transitions: a randomized, crossover, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study

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Abstract

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) might have a beneficial impact on cytochrome-c oxidase enzyme activity. Thus, it was hypothesized that photobiomodulation by light-emitting diode therapy (LEDT) could influence aerobic metabolism dynamics. Possible LEDT-mediated aerobic improvements were investigated mainly by a precise characterization of the pulmonary O2 uptake dynamics during moderate exercise transitions. Eight healthy young adults were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. A multi-diode array of LEDs was used for muscular pre-conditioning 30 min and 6 h before exercise testing. Pulmonary O2 uptake, carbon dioxide output, cardiac output, heart rate, stroke volume, and total arteriovenous oxygen difference dynamics were evaluated by frequency domain analysis. Comparisons revealed no statistical (p > 0.05) differences between LEDT and placebo, suggesting no significant changes in aerobic system dynamics. These results challenge earlier publications that reported changes in pulmonary O2 uptake during incremental exercise until exhaustion after LEDT. Perhaps, increments in peak pulmonary O2 uptake after LEDT may be a consequence of higher exercise tolerance caused by non-aerobic-related factors as opposed to an improved aerobic response.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to Richard L. Hughson (RGPIN-6473); by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation/Brazilian Council of Science and Technology Development (CNPq) to Thomas Beltrame (Ph.D. scholarship—202398/2011-0); and by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) to Cleber Ferraresi (Ph.D. scholarship—2010/07194-7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Thomas Beltrame & Richard L. Hughson

  2. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

    Thomas Beltrame

  3. Post-Graduation Program in Biotechnology, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil

    Cleber Ferraresi & Nivaldo Antonio Parizotto

  4. Laboratory of Electrothermophototherapy, Department of Physical Therapy, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil

    Cleber Ferraresi & Nivaldo Antonio Parizotto

  5. Optics Group, Physics Institute of Sao Carlos, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil

    Cleber Ferraresi & Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato

  6. Post-graduation Program in Physical Therapy in Functional Health, Physical Therapy Department, Universidade do Sagrado Coração, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil

    Cleber Ferraresi

  7. Post-Graduation Program in Biomedical Engineering, Universidade Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil

    Cleber Ferraresi & Nivaldo Antonio Parizotto

  8. Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging, 250 Laurelwood Dr., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 0E2, Canada

    Richard L. Hughson

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  1. Thomas Beltrame
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  2. Cleber Ferraresi
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  3. Nivaldo Antonio Parizotto
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  4. Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato
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  5. Richard L. Hughson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard L. Hughson.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Office of Research Ethics of the University of Waterloo—ORE approval number 19196) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Beltrame, T., Ferraresi, C., Parizotto, N.A. et al. Light-emitting diode therapy (photobiomodulation) effects on oxygen uptake and cardiac output dynamics during moderate exercise transitions: a randomized, crossover, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. Lasers Med Sci 33, 1065–1071 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-018-2473-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-018-2473-1

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