Efeitos da fotobiomodulação no desempenho esportivo de paratletas de natação - uma série de casos

Abstract

Photobiomodulation (PBM) uses light, usually from a laser or LED, to stimulate, heal and / or regenerate damaged tissues. Recently, it has been used to increase sports performance in athletes. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the effects of PBM on cardiorespiratory function and swimming performance in parathletes. Ten young adult parathletes, men and women, swimmers of the AACD team, São Paulo - Brazil, were tested before and after the PBM applied to the upper musculature. They are diagnosed with cerebral palsy, myelomeningocele and congenital malformation. Before the test, they performed a 10 min swim warm-up in a 50 m pool. They rested for 1 min and their heart rate was recorded. Parathletes performed 3 swimming sessions, in freestyle, with maximum effort, with an interval of 5 min between each series and the average performance time was recorded. After a recovery period of one week, the upper muscles: biceps, deltoid and trapezius were irradiated, bilaterally, for 10 min, with a set of LEDs, each area receiving 108 J. After every 50 m of swimming, performance time, peak heart rate and recovery after 1 min were recorded. Comparisons were made before, after irradiation with PBM and after placebo, in a crossover design. All the parathletes improved the time in the 50 m swim. On average, the time decreased about 4 s after PBM and about 1.5 s after placebo. The peak heart rate was 10% lower after irradiation, when compared to non irradiated placebo. The recovery heart rate was also better for all athletes. The results suggest that a muscle preconditioning regime, using PBM with low-power infrared laser, before intense exercise can modulate the function of the upper musculature and the recovery of heart rate, leading to a better swimming performance in young adult parathletes.