Photobiomodulation Therapy for Wound Healing: A Narrative Review

Photobiomodulation is a therapy method that employs light to stimulate cellular function. It has emerged as a promising approach to healing wounds due to its potential to accelerate tissue repair. Wounds can vary in severity from minor cuts to more serious injuries that involve deeper tissue damage. Wound healing is the natural process of the body to repair the injured tissue that causes disruptions to the integrity of the body's tissue. It has been known that photobiomodulation has established its positive effects on wound healing in various factors by modulating the inflammatory response. This review aims to understand the efficacy of photobiomodulation and the clinical application of light transmission as a therapy in enhancing the healing of wounds. Articles on photobiomodulation and its application in wound healing were searched from the available peer-reviewed journals. Published papers were collected from PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct using photobiomodulation, wound healing, and soft tissue as the keywords. The initial paper search yielded 124 results, and 37 full-text eligible articles were assessed in this review. In conclusion, photobiomodulation has been seen to offer a promising therapeutic approach to enhancing wound healing despite ongoing development. Continued research is essential to comprehend the full potential of photobiomodulation therapy in accelerating wound recovery. It will provide insights into future research areas on photobiomodulation, thus improving the clinical treatment modality and the patient's quality of life.