Effect of Photobiomodulation on Critical Swimming Velocity: A Randomized, Crossover, Double-Blind, and Placebo-Controlled Study

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the acute effect of photobiomodulation (PBM) on swimming critical velocity (CV). Methods: A total of 15 male federated swimmers (20.9 [2.4] y old) participated in this study. Three sets of front crawl were performed at distances of 100, 200, and 400 m to determine the CV under 3 experimental conditions: PBM (420 J), placebo (PLA), and control (C) in this randomized, crossover, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. One-way analysis of variance for repeated measurements was used for statistical analyses. Results: The results showed that the prior application of PBM did not have ergogenic effects on CV and front crawl swimming performance: CV (PBM = 1.15 [0.15]; PLA = 1.20 [0.25]; C = 1.15 [0.14] m·s−1), swim time (ST) 100 m (PBM = 65.5 [6.3]; PLA = 65.2 [5.6]; C = 66.0 [5.9] s), ST 200 m (PBM = 148.5 [17.9]; PLA = 149.4 [16.4]; C = 150.1 [17.9] s), and ST 400 m (PBM = 327.7 [38.2]; PLA = 321.6 [47.7]; C = 329.5 [41.2] s). Conclusions: A PBM application prior to front crawl swimming test did not significantly modify the CV, ST, physiological factors of metabolic fatigue, perceptual, and front crawl stroke efficiency parameters in competition swimmers covering distances of 100, 200, and 400 m.