Photobiomodulation on vocal training and rehabilitation: Delphi consensus based on experts.
Emerson Soares Pontes, Thays Garcia Vaiano, Roberto Sávio de Assunção Bastos and 3 others
PMID 39936808WHAT IT FOUND
Seven voice specialists agreed on how they use photobiomodulation as an add-on to vocal training, including for voice professionals without dysphonia and behavioral dysphonia without laryngeal injury.
This is expert practice agreement, not proof that photobiomodulation works.
Key findings
01Seven speech-language pathologists completed both Delphi rounds and reached consensus on 34 items.
02They agreed that photobiomodulation can be used as a complementary device to vocal training.
03They agreed it can be used for voice professionals without dysphonia and for behavioral dysphonia without laryngeal injury.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The panel was small: seven experts, all in Brazil, selected because they already use photobiomodulation, so it reflects their practice, not broader clinician or patient outcomes. The study produced expert agreement, not patient data, so it cannot show whether photobiomodulation improves voice, reduces fatigue, or is safe. The paper states that external evidence on photobiomodulation for the larynx is scarce and methodologically limited. Several clinically important uses did not reach consensus, including use only when conventional therapy is limited, inflammation modulation, ILIB, doses below 4 joules, applying during or after vocal conditioning exercises, acoustic analysis, and many organic, neurological, cancer, reflux, paralysis, or lesioned behavioral dysphonia cases. The authors note the need for randomized trials to confirm efficacy and safety.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not report funding sources or conflicts of interest declarations.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that photobiomodulation improves voice outcomes. The paper reports expert agreement on how specialists use photobiomodulation, and it states that external evidence on PBM effects in the larynx is scarce and methodologically limited.