Combining Laser Therapy with Strength & Conditioning: A Performance Multiplier

Strength and conditioning programmes are designed to create adaptation. The challenge is that adaptation requires a delicate balance between training stress and recovery. Push too hard without adequate recovery and performance can plateau. Recover too aggressively and some coaches worry that training adaptations may be blunted.

This is where photobiomodulation (PBM), also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), is attracting increasing attention among athletes, trainers, physiotherapists, equine professionals and canine performance specialists.

Research suggests that PBM may help support recovery, reduce markers of muscle damage and improve resistance to fatigue while allowing athletes and animals to maintain training intensity. A comprehensive scientific review published in the Journal of Biophotonics found that photobiomodulation can positively influence muscle performance, fatigue resistance and post-exercise recovery.

Rather than replacing good programming, PBM may act as a performance multiplier that helps the body adapt more efficiently to training demands.

What Is Photobiomodulation?

Photobiomodulation uses specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light to stimulate biological processes within cells. The primary mechanism is believed to involve mitochondrial activity, particularly the interaction of light with cytochrome c oxidase, which may enhance cellular energy production in the form of ATP. 

For strength and conditioning professionals, this is particularly relevant because muscle tissue has significant energy demands during training and recovery.

Potential benefits reported in the scientific literature include:

• Improved resistance to muscular fatigue
• Enhanced recovery after intense exercise
• Reduced oxidative stress
• Reduced markers of muscle damage
• Improved training capacity
• Support for muscle adaptation and performance gains

Athletes, therapists and animal owners looking to implement these principles can learn more about the Handy Pulse Laser device.

The Adaptation-Recovery Balance

A common concern among athletes is whether recovery interventions reduce the training stimulus.

It's a reasonable question.

Ice baths, anti-inflammatory medications and some recovery strategies have been debated because excessive suppression of inflammation may potentially interfere with long-term adaptation.

When discussing PBM, the conversation is different.

A comprehensive review examining 46 human studies involving more than 1,000 participants found evidence that photobiomodulation may increase muscle performance, improve recovery and even support muscle mass gains during training programmes. According to the review, reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress were observed alongside improvements in performance-related outcomes.

This suggests PBM may help athletes recover without necessarily compromising the body's adaptive response to training.

PBM Before Training: The Pre-Conditioning Advantage

One of the most interesting findings in sports science is the concept of muscular pre-conditioning.

PBM applied before exercise has been associated with:

• Increased repetitions during resistance training
• Improved time to fatigue
• Enhanced strength outcomes
• Better performance in some athletic tasks

Several studies reviewed in the landmark photobiomodulation analysis demonstrated improvements in the number of repetitions athletes could perform and increased resistance to muscular fatigue when PBM was used before exercise sessions.

For strength athletes, this could mean greater training volume. For endurance athletes, it may support sustained output. For working dogs and performance horses, it may help maintain performance quality during demanding workloads.

PBM After Training: Supporting Recovery

Recovery is where many athletes first encounter laser therapy.

After intense exercise, muscle tissue experiences microtrauma, oxidative stress and temporary reductions in performance. PBM has been studied for its ability to support the body's natural recovery processes.

Research summarised in the comprehensive PBM review reported benefits including:

• Reduced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in some protocols
• Lower levels of muscle damage markers such as creatine kinase
• Improved recovery between training sessions
• Reduced oxidative stress responses following exercise

Many athletes feel that anything which speeds recovery must somehow reduce gains. Others have felt the same way. However, what researchers found was that PBM may actually support adaptations when combined with structured exercise programmes, helping athletes train harder and recover more effectively.

What About Muscle Growth and Strength Gains?

The review identified studies showing improvements in muscle performance and reports of increased muscle mass gains after training interventions combined with photobiomodulation. 

Rather than replacing the training stimulus, PBM appears to help optimise the environment in which adaptation occurs.

Think of it as helping the body make better use of the work already being performed.

Extending the Benefits to Horses and Dogs

The same physiological principles that apply to human athletes are highly relevant to performance animals.

Sport horses, racing animals, agility dogs, working dogs and rehabilitation patients all experience muscular fatigue, training stress and recovery demands. While much of the strongest evidence currently comes from human studies, the cellular mechanisms discussed in the PBM literature are highly conserved across mammalian species, making laser therapy an increasingly popular adjunct within veterinary rehabilitation and performance programmes.

Why Device Quality Matters

One challenge in the PBM field is that treatment outcomes depend heavily on treatment parameters, including wavelength, energy delivery and dosage.

The scientific review highlighted significant differences between protocols, helping explain why some studies produced strong results while others showed little effect. This reinforces the importance of using evidence-based devices designed around clinically relevant treatment parameters.

The Handy Pulse Laser device has been developed around pulsed low-level laser therapy principles for pain relief, recovery support and performance optimisation. You can learn more about the device here:

The Future of Performance Recovery

As sports science continues to evolve, the focus is shifting from simply training harder to recovering smarter.

Evidence from the scientific literature suggests photobiomodulation may help athletes and performance animals improve recovery, reduce fatigue, support adaptation and maintain training quality across demanding workloads. 

For coaches, therapists, athletes and animal performance professionals, PBM may be less about replacing effort and more about helping every training session produce a greater return on investment.

Those interested in applying these principles in practice can explore the Handy Pulse Laser device.

References:

Ferraresi C, Huang YY, Hamblin MR. Photobiomodulation in human muscle tissue: an advantage in sports performance? J Biophotonics. 2016 Dec;9(11-12):1273-1299. doi: 10.1002/jbio.201600176. Epub 2016 Nov 22. PMID: 27874264; PMCID: PMC5167494.