Low level laser therapy – A review of clinical trials published 2013 - 2022

Background: The textbook, Michlovitz‘s Modalities for Theraputic Intervention (Bellew et al., 2016) has provided physiotherapists with information about low level laser therapy (LLLT), based on systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) dating up to the year 2012. More recent RCTs may have made new discoveries since then. Objective: The aim of this mini-systematic review was to search the LLLT literature for RCTs published between 2013 and 2022 regarding its indications for pain in common musculoskeletal conditions. The findings could help physiotherapists make the best possible treatment decisions for their patients. Methods: This mini-systematic review was conducted following the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure quality and correct methods. To be included, the RCTs needed to measure and report pain on the VAS scale, the treatment needed to be for a musculoskeletal pathology and be known as a recommended treatment option by the World Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (WALT). The search was performed in three databases: Pub-med, Pedro and Google Scholar. All included studies were of class one evidence. Results: Out of the 784 records obtained, six studies were included in this systematic review after the identification process. The most common reasons for exclusion were studies not being RCTs and not available in English. The pathologies covered in the selected studies included: knee osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, neck pain, subacromial impingement and chronic non-specific low back pain. Overall risk of bias of the studies was low and there was substantiated evidence of LLLT being an effective treatment for pain as four of the six studies (66%) reported an improvement in the VAS in the treatment group over the control group in the short term. The evidence was strong as all six studies were RCTs so they fell under class one. Therefore, there is strong, substantiated evidence that LLLT decreases pain in musculoskeletal pathologies. Conclusions: The results of this systematic review indicate that LLLT can be an effective treatment option to decrease pain caused by various musculoskeletal pathologies. Further studies are needed to better understand the optimal dosage for each pathology as there were not enough new studies done on each pathology to allow for separate analyses. Further studies with over 100 participants and a longer follow-up period are needed to evaluate the long-term effects of LLLT.

Author dc:creator

• Guðni Rúnar Jónsson 1989-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskóli Íslands

• Sjúkraþjálfun

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/46293

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/46293