Red Light Therapy: a Potential Strategy to Reduce Sports Injury Risk? (DIAERESIS)

March 17, 2026 updated by: Cláudio da Silva Ferreira
This study investigates whether near-infrared light therapy can acutely improve ankle dorsiflexion mobility and hamstring flexibility, two factors associated with sports injury risk. Healthy adult students will complete three randomized conditions: a control session, a 10-minute cycling warm-up, and a 10-minute exposure to a red and near-infrared LED panel (MITO LIGHT®). Mobility and flexibility will be assessed before and after each condition using the Knee-to-Wall Test (KWT) and the Active Knee Extension Test (AKET). The study aims to determine whether photobiomodulation may serve as a potential strategy to reduce musculoskeletal injury risk.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This randomized crossover study examines the acute effects of near-infrared LED-based photobiomodulation on ankle dorsiflexion mobility and hamstring flexibility in healthy adults. Each participant will complete three sessions in randomized order: (1) control, (2) 10-minute cycling warm-up, and (3) 10-minute exposure to a red and near-infrared LED panel (MITO LIGHT®), emitting wavelengths range of 800-860 nm. The LED panel will be positioned at 15 cm distance at 100% intensity. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will include the Knee-to-Wall Test (KWT) and the Active Knee Extension Test (AKET). The study is conducted at the Human Movement Laboratory of the University of Aveiro and follows ethical approval from the CEIC-UA. Data will be anonymized and processed according to GDPR. The goal is to determine whether photobiomodulation may contribute to reducing sports injury risk by improving key biomechanical parameters.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Portugal
    • Aveiro District
      • Aveiro, Aveiro District, Portugal, 3810-193
        • Human Movement Laboratory, Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro (ESSUA)
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Cláudio da Silva Ferreira, MSc Student

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Active and healthy university students
  • No current pain or injury in the lower limbs
  • Ability to perform the Knee-to-Wall Test (KWT) and Active Knee Extension Test (AKET)
  • Availability to attend all three sessions with at least 72 hours between assessments
  • Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Use of photosensitizing medication currently or within the past 3 weeks (as collected in the medical questionnaire)
  • Recent musculoskeletal injury of the lower limbs or any sports-related injury with relevant downtime
  • Presence of pain, joint limitation, or any medical condition preventing safe performance of KWT or AKET

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Control
10 minutes lying-down rest before assessments
Active Comparator: Cycling Warm-up
10 minutes cycling warm-up before assessments
Other: Cycling Warm-up
10 minutes cycling warm-up on a stationary cycle ergometer at 55-75% of maximum heart rate, followed by mobility and flexibility assessments.
Experimental: Near-Infrared Photobiomodulation
10 minutes Near-Infrared exposure before assessments
Device: Near-infrared photobiomodulation
Exposure to a near-infrared LED panel emitting wavelengths range of 800-860 nm for 10 minutes at a distance of 15 cm and 100% intensity. Mobility and flexibility tests (KWT and AKET) are performed immediately before and after the exposure.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Ankle dorsiflexion range of motion
Time Frame: Immediately before and immediately after each condition (control, cycling warm-up, and near-infrared photobiomodulation)
Ankle dorsiflexion range of motion will be assessed using the weight-bearing lunge test (knee-to-wall test). The distance from the hallux to the wall (cm) will be measured with the knee touching the wall and the heel on the floor. Higher values indicate greater dorsiflexion mobility
Immediately before and immediately after each condition (control, cycling warm-up, and near-infrared photobiomodulation)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hamstring flexibility
Time Frame: Immediately before and immediately after each condition (control, cycling warm-up, and near-infrared photobiomodulation)
Hamstring flexibility will be assessed using the active knee extension test (AKET). With the hip flexed to 90° in supine position, the participant will actively extend the knee, and the knee flexion angle (degrees) will be measured with a goniometer. Lower angles indicate greater hamstring flexibility.
Immediately before and immediately after each condition (control, cycling warm-up, and near-infrared photobiomodulation)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Cláudio da Silva Ferreira

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Cláudio da Silva Ferreira, Licenciate, University of Aveiro

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Shamsi, M., Mirzaei, M., & Khabiri, S. S. (2019). Universal goniometer and electro-goniometer intra-examiner reliability in measuring the knee range of motion during active knee extension test in patients with chronic low back pain with short hamstring muscle. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 11(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-019-0116-x
  • Olivencia, O., Godinez, G. M., Dages, J., Duda, C., Kaplan, K., Kolber, M. J., Kaplan, & Kolber. (2020). THE RELIABILITY AND MINIMAL DETECTABLE CHANGE OF THE ELY AND ACTIVE KNEE EXTENSION TESTS. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 15(5), 776-782. https://doi.org/10.26603/ijspt20200776
  • Warneke, K., Meder, J., Plöschberger, G., Oraže, M., Zechner, M., Jochum, D., Siegel, S. D., & Konrad, A. (2025). Can measurement errors explain variance in the relationship between muscle- and tendon stiffness and range of motion?-a blinded reliability and objectivity study. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 125(9), 2415-2430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05814-1
  • Konor, M. M., Morton, S., Eckerson, J. M., & Grindstaff, T. L. (2012). Reliability of three measures of ankle dorsiflexion range of motion. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 7(3), 279-287

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 23, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 13, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 20, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 17, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 13-CEIC-UA/2026-M

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

All collected data will be anonymized for statistical analysis and stored securely with restricted access. Therefore, the dataset will be made available upon reasonable request.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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