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Passive Care Research for Doctors
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Interferential Therapy & Tens -
Low Back Pain
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1. Chow RT, Barnsley L. Systematic review of the literature of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in the management of neck pain. Lasers Surg Med. July; 37 (1): 46-52. (2005)
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is widely used in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of LLLT in the treatment of neck pain through systematically reviewing the literature.
A search of computerized bibliographic databases covering medicine, physiotherapy, allied health, complementary medicine, and biological sciences was undertaken from date of inception until February 2004 for randomized controlled trials of LLLT for neck pain. Twenty studies were identified, five of which met the inclusion criteria.
RESULTS:
Significant positive effects were reported in four of five trials in which infrared wavelengths (lambda = 780, 810-830, 904, 1,064 nm) were used.
CONCLUSIONS:
- Evidence from one (1) RCT for the use of infrared laser for the treatment of acute neck pain (n = 71).
- Evidence from four (4) RCTs for the use of infrared laser for the treatment of chronic neck pain (n = 202).
2. Gur, A. et al. Efficacy of 904 nm gallium arsenide low level laser therapy in the management of chronic myofascial pain in the neck: a double-blind and randomize-controlled trial. Lasers Surg Med. 35 (3): 229-35 (2004)
A prospective, double-blind, randomized, and controlled trial was conducted in patients with chronic myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the neck to evaluate the effects of infrared low level 904 nm Gallium-Arsenide (Ga-As) laser therapy (LLLT) on clinical and quality of life (QoL).
The study group consisted of 60 MPS patients. Patients were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: Group I (actual laser; 30 patients) and Group II (placebo laser; 30 patients). LLLT continued daily for 2 weeks except weekends.
Follow-up measures were evaluated at baseline, 2, 3, and 12 weeks.
All patients were evaluated with respect to pain at rest, pain at movement, number of trigger points (TP), the Neck Pain and Disability Visual Analog Scale (NPAD), Beck depression Inventory (BDI), and the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP).
RESULTS:
In active laser group, statistically significant improvements were detected in all outcome measures compared with baseline.
The score for self-assessed improvement of pain was significantly different between the active and placebo laser groups (63 vs. 19%).
CONCLUSION:
This study revealed that short-period application of LLLT is effective in pain relief and in the improvement of functional ability and Quality of Life in patients with Myofascial Pain Syndrome.
3. Enwemeka, CS et al. The efficacy of low-power lasers in tissue repair and pain control: a meta-analysis study. Photomed laser Surg. Aug; 22 (4):323-9 (2004).
A statistical meta-analysis was used to determine the overall treatment effects of laser phototherapy on tissue repair and pain relief.
Thirty-four peer-reviewed papers on tissue repair met the inclusion criteria and were used to calculate 46 treatment effect sizes.
Nine peer-reviewed papers on pain control met the inclusion criteria and were used to calculate nine effect sizes.
RESULTS:
Meta-analysis revealed a positive effect of laser phototherapy on tissue repair and pain control.
The positive effect of treatment on specific indices of tissue repair was evident in:
- Collagen formation
- Rate of healing
- Tensile strength
- Time needed for wound closure
- Tensile stress
- Number and rate of degranulation of mast cells
Further, analysis revealed the positive effects of various wavelengths of laser light on tissue repair:
- 632.8 nm having the highest treatment effect
- 780 nm having the lowest treatment effect
CONCLUSIONS:
These findings illustrate that laser phototherapy is a highly effective therapeutic modality for tissue repair and pain relief.
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