The influence of photobiomodulation on upper body muscular performance in collegiate athletes.

Background: Photobiomodulation (PBM), has been shown to improve muscular performance during single-joint resistance exercises. It is unclear whether this benefit extends to multiple-joint exercises, such as the barbell bench press.

Methods: In a within-group design, 15 collegiate athletes (mean±SD; age 20.2±1.6 yrs; BMI 26.0±4.5 kg^.m^-2) received PBM or sham treatment six hours prior and then immediately preceding a bench press protocol. Two treatment sites each on the pectoralis major, triceps, and deltoids were irradiated. Bench press one repetition maximum (1RM), volume load (VL) lifted during five sets to failure at 60% 1RM, and muscular soreness were compared between PBM and sham conditions. Testing was conducted over three sessions separated by a week each, with a baseline testing day occurring first, and the PBM and sham condition testing days following in a counterbalanced fashion. A repeated measures ANOVA was applied for analysis (alpha level=0.05).

Results: No significant differences were observed between PBM and sham conditions for bench press 1RM or soreness (P≥0.05). VL was greater in both PBM and sham conditions compared to baseline (P≤0.05). VL was not significantly different between PBM and sham.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that muscular performance during multi-joint resistance exercises such as the bench press may not benefit from PBM in the same fashion as single-joint resistance exercises.