Portable Low-Level Laser Therapy for Recovery After a Quadriceps-Dominant Fatiguing Task in Recreational Runners

NCT07808814 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: CNU_DSM_001
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized, sham-controlled, two-period crossover study evaluated the effects of portable 808-nm low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on acute recovery and running biomechanics following a quadriceps-dominant fatiguing task in recreational runners. Twenty male recreational runners completed both active LLLT and sham conditions, separated by a 2-week washout period. After the fatiguing task, participants received 10 minutes of bilateral quadriceps LLLT or sham treatment, followed by treadmill running at the same fixed self-selected speed. Quadriceps soreness, heart rate, running spatiotemporal parameters, and kinematic responses were assessed using a verbal numerical rating scale, heart-rate monitoring, two-dimensional video analysis, and inertial measurement units.

Conditions

Muscle Fatigue Caused by Repetitive Muscle Exercise

Keywords

Running Biomechanics; Inertial Measurement Units; Low-Level Laser Therapy; Photobiomodulation Therapy; Recreational Runners

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (10)

• Quadriceps Soreness

  Quadriceps soreness was assessed using a 0-10 verbal numerical rating scale (VNRS), where 0 indicated no soreness and 10 indicated the worst imaginable soreness. Decimal responses were permitted.

  Immediately after the 10-minute intervention and before the post-intervention running trial.

• Distal-Tibial Acceleration at Initial Contact

  Resultant distal-tibial acceleration was measured using bilateral inertial measurement units and expressed in meters per second squared (m/s²). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each limb, and the left- and right-limb means were subsequently averaged.

  At initial contact during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

• Distal-Tibial Angular Velocity at Initial Contact

  Resultant distal-tibial angular velocity was measured using bilateral inertial measurement units and expressed in degrees per second (°/s). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each limb, and the left- and right-limb means were subsequently averaged.

  At initial contact during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

• Distal-Tibial Angular Velocity at Toe-Off

  Resultant distal-tibial angular velocity was measured using bilateral inertial measurement units and expressed in degrees per second (°/s). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each limb, and the left- and right-limb means were subsequently averaged.

  At toe-off during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

• Distal-Tibial Acceleration at Toe-Off

  Resultant distal-tibial acceleration was measured using bilateral inertial measurement units and expressed in meters per second squared (m/s²). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each limb, and the left- and right-limb means were subsequently averaged.

  At toe-off during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

• Step Width During Running

  Step width was measured from posterior-view two-dimensional video analysis and expressed in centimeters. Ten consecutive steps were analyzed and averaged for each participant and condition.

  During the 3-minute post-intervention treadmill running trial; 10 consecutive steps were analyzed from 60 to 120 seconds after the start of running.

• Sacral Acceleration at Initial Contact

  Resultant sacral acceleration was measured using an inertial measurement unit positioned over the S2 region and expressed in meters per second squared (m/s²). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each participant and condition.

  At initial contact during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

• Sacral Acceleration at Toe-Off

  Resultant sacral acceleration was measured using an inertial measurement unit positioned over the S2 region and expressed in meters per second squared (m/s²). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each participant and condition.

  At toe-off during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

• Sacral Angular Velocity at Initial Contact

  Resultant sacral angular velocity was measured using an inertial measurement unit positioned over the S2 region and expressed in degrees per second (°/s). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each participant and condition.

  At initial contact during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

• Sacral Angular Velocity at Toe-Off

  Resultant sacral angular velocity was measured using an inertial measurement unit positioned over the S2 region and expressed in degrees per second (°/s). Values from 10 consecutive steps were averaged for each participant and condition.

  At toe-off during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; events were identified within the 60-120-second analysis interval.

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Heart Rate at the End of the Intervention

  During the final 10 seconds of the 10-minute intervention.

• Sagittal Trunk Inclination Angle at Initial Contact

  At initial contact during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; 10 consecutive steps were analyzed from 60 to 120 seconds after the start of running.

• Sagittal Trunk Inclination Angle at Toe-Off

  At toe-off during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; 10 consecutive steps were analyzed from 60 to 120 seconds after the start of running.

• Knee-Flexion Angle at Initial Contact

  At initial contact during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; 10 consecutive steps were analyzed from 60 to 120 seconds after the start of running.

• Knee-Flexion Angle at Toe-Off

  At toe-off during the post-intervention treadmill running trial; 10 consecutive steps were analyzed from 60 to 120 seconds after the start of running.

Study Arms (2)

LLLT-Sham Sequence

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received LLLT during the first experimental period and sham during the second experimental period, with a 2-week washout period between visits.

Device: LLLT; Device: Sham

Sham-LLLT Sequence

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received sham during the first experimental period and LLLT during the second experimental period, with a 2-week washout period between visits.

Device: LLLT; Device: Sham

Interventions

LLLT DEVICE

Portable 808-nm low-level laser therapy applied bilaterally to the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and vastus medialis for 10 minutes.

LLLT-Sham Sequence; Sham-LLLT Sequence

Sham DEVICE

Sham device applied to the same bilateral quadriceps sites for 10 minutes, matching the LLLT condition in device appearance, placement, duration, and fixation.

LLLT-Sham Sequence; Sham-LLLT Sequence

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Male recreational runners aged 18-40 years.
• Recreational running status determined using the World Masters Athletics (WMA) age-graded performance score, with an age-graded score below 60%.
• Previous experience with treadmill running.
• Rearfoot-strike running pattern.
• No running-related lower-limb injury during the preceding 6 months

You may not qualify if:

• WMA age-graded performance score of 60% or higher.
• Non-rearfoot-strike running pattern.
• Leg-length discrepancy greater than 3 cm.
• Use of an orthosis, brace, or other lower-limb medical device that could influence running gait.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chia Nan University of Pharmacy ＆ Science: lead
• Lasinmed Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Chia Nan University of Pharmacy & Science

Tainan, 717301, Taiwan

Location

Related Publications (5)

• do Nascimento AP, de Oliveira GA, Bressanin JPB, Aguirra P, Ribeiro AS, Caldeira LFS, Casonatto J, Ferraresi C, Aguiar AF. Acute dose-response effect of photobiomodulation therapy on 5-km running performance in trained runners: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Lasers Med Sci. 2024 May 31;39(1):145. doi: 10.1007/s10103-024-04099-8.

  PMID: 38819613 RESULT

• De Marchi T, Leal Junior EC, Bortoli C, Tomazoni SS, Lopes-Martins RA, Salvador M. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in human progressive-intensity running: effects on exercise performance, skeletal muscle status, and oxidative stress. Lasers Med Sci. 2012 Jan;27(1):231-6. doi: 10.1007/s10103-011-0955-5. Epub 2011 Jul 8.

  PMID: 21739259 RESULT

• de Brito Vieira WH, Bezerra RM, Queiroz RA, Maciel NF, Parizotto NA, Ferraresi C. Use of low-level laser therapy (808 nm) to muscle fatigue resistance: a randomized double-blind crossover trial. Photomed Laser Surg. 2014 Dec;32(12):678-85. doi: 10.1089/pho.2014.3812.

  PMID: 25496083 RESULT

• Vanin AA, Verhagen E, Barboza SD, Costa LOP, Leal-Junior ECP. Photobiomodulation therapy for the improvement of muscular performance and reduction of muscular fatigue associated with exercise in healthy people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lasers Med Sci. 2018 Jan;33(1):181-214. doi: 10.1007/s10103-017-2368-6. Epub 2017 Oct 31.

  PMID: 29090398 RESULT

• Zandbergen MA, Marotta L, Bulthuis R, Buurke JH, Veltink PH, Reenalda J. Effects of level running-induced fatigue on running kinematics: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Gait Posture. 2023 Jan;99:60-75. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2022.09.089. Epub 2022 Oct 12.

  PMID: 36332318 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Low-Level Light Therapy

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Laser Therapy; Therapeutics; Phototherapy

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: QUADRUPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The LLLT and sham devices were pre-coded as Conditions A and B by the manufacturer. Only the manufacturer retained the code linking each condition to the actual intervention. Participants, intervention personnel, investigators, and outcome assessors remained unaware of condition identity until completion of data analysis. The devices were covered during application to prevent visual identification of the assigned intervention.
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Model Details: Randomized, two-period crossover design. Participants were assigned to one of two intervention sequences (LLLT followed by sham, or sham followed by LLLT), with a 2-week washout period between experimental visits.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 2, 2026
• First Posted: September 9, 2026
• Study Start: February 17, 2025
• Primary Completion: June 19, 2025
• Study Completion: June 19, 2025
• Last Updated: September 9, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TW (1)