A word that appears more and more nowadays in the media is biomodulation. Biomodulation is a better descriptive name than low-level laser therapy (LLLT) or LED-therapy for the biological processes stimulated with low energy light irradiation. With the advancement of low-level lasers and LED’s, it has become more probable that the devices utilizing these technologies also create a thermo reaction (heat reaction). With biomodulation this thermo reaction is absent, irrespective of the technology used.
Photo-biomodulation (or biomodulation in short) has become the collective name for what was previously called LLLT, soft laser, cold laser, LED-therapy and cold light therapy. These names all referred to treatments where no thermo reaction was created. The light is only used to stimulate existing chemical reactions in the body.
Biomodulation, itself, is the process following a photochemical reaction. Photochemical reactions can be compared to photosynthesis in plants where the light causes a chemical change when it is absorbed.
Which treatments are generally seen as biomodulation treatments?
This can be any treatment done with low-level lasers, LED devices or other low energy output light devices. You will find these treatments in beauty, lifestyle and medicine. The most important factor is that the light does not create a thermo or ablative reaction. It only stimulates a chemical reaction.
How much energy is required for biomodulation?
There are more and more evidence that biomodulation has a biphasic dose response. This means that effective treatment require a minimum level of energy to achieve a therapeutic (beneficial) reaction and as the energy is increased from this minimum level upwards the therapeutic reaction will improve until it reach a maximum therapeutic result. When more energy is applied after this maximum therapeutic level has been reached the results will decline and at some point a too high energy level will give negative therapeutic results.
In general it seems that the best biomodulation results are between 2 J/cm2 and 8 J/cm2 (depending on various factors).
You will find some more information about this in the paper: “Biphasic Dose Response in Low Level Light Therapy – An Update” by Huang, Ying-Ying; Sharma, Sulbha K; Carroll, James; more…
A publication of International Hormesis Society, 2011, Volume 9, Issue 4.
LaserCollege offers a course on low-level laser and LED-therapy. You can click here for an overview of this course.
If you have any experience or thoughts about this topic; please let us know by posting a comment on your experience.