Clinical Effectiveness of Laser Therapy
Low level or Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) has proven
to be a very effective treatment for many conditions
including those that have not responded well to
traditional methods, including surgery. In many
instances, it can also be a viable alternative to
surgery and long-term use of pain medications.
Light therapy has been shown in over 40 years of
independent research worldwide in more than 1200 studies
to deliver powerful therapeutic benefits to living
tissues and organisms. Both visible red and invisible
infrared light have been shown to affect at least 24
different positive changes at a cellular level. Einstein
even touted the benefits of light on the human body in
1918.
Selected Studies:
A prominent college of medicine in Houston, Texas,
conducted a later double-blind study in 2000. That study
showed 70% improvement in the active group.
One study of 324 patients obtained total pain relief in
82% of the acute cases and 66% in the chronic cases of
tennis and golfer's elbow as reported in Clinical Laser
Medicine & Surgery, 1998; 16 (3): 145-151.
A recent meta-analysis in the
Journal of Rheumatology for rheumatoid
arthritis, low-level laser therapy reduced pain by 70%
relative to placebo, reduced morning stiffness, and
increased flexibility. Brosseau L, Welch V, Wells G, et
al. Low level laser therapy for osteoarthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis. J Rheumatol.
2000;27:1961-1969
“… results obtained after low level laser therapy (LLLT)
treatment of more than 200 patients (headaches, facial
pain, musculoskeletal, myogenic neck pain, shoulder and
arm pain, epicondylitis, tenosynovitis, low back and
radicular pain, Achilles tendonitis) were better than we
had ever expected…mobility is restored (functional
recovery), pain decreases or disappears…” 1
“ LLLT improves local microcirculation and improves
oxygen supply to hypoxic cells…normalization of
microcirculation, due to laser applications, interrupts
the “circulus vitosus: of the pain and its development.”
1
“ acute pain, diminished more than 70%; chronic pain
more than 60%…use of analgesic drugs could be reduced or
completely excluded. LLLT can be used as monotherapy or
supplementary treatment to other therapeutic procedures
for pain treatment.” 1
1Low Level Laser Therapy with trigger points technique:
a clinical study on 243 patients. Journal of Clinical
Lasers in Medicine and Surgery, 1996 Aug; 14(4):163-7
"Successful management of female office workers with
“repetitive stress injury” or “carpal tunnel syndrome”
by a new treatment modality- application of low level
laser.” E. Wong G Lee, J. Zu Cherman and D.P. Mason;
Western Heart Institute and St. Mary’s Spine Center, San
Francisco, CA, and Head and Neck Pain Center, Honolulu,
HI
Female office workers with desk jobs who are
incapacitated by pain and tingling in the hands and
fingers are often diagnosed by physicians as “repetitive
stress injury” (RSI) or “carpal tunnel syndrome” (CTS).
These patients usually have poor posture with their head
and neck stooped forward and shoulders rounded; upon
palpation. In 35 such patients we focused the treatment
primarily at the posterior neck area and not the wrists
and hands. The [low level] laser rapidly alleviated the
pain and tingling in the arms, hands and fingers and
diminished tenderness at the involved spinous processes.
Laser
Therapy, 1997:9:131-136
“With low level laser treatment, complete resolution of
pretreatment symptoms and abnormal physical findings was
achieved in 77% of cases. It is a safe, cost-effective
therapy producing a 77% success rate and appears to be
an attractive substitute for surgery.” Noninvasive Laser
Neurolysis in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Muscle and
Nerve, 20:1029-1031, 1997.
Clinical Application of GaAIAs 830NM Diode Laser in
Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka City University Medical
School, Japan, Average patient age was 61. “This gave a
total effective rating for pain attenuation of 90%, and
for ROM [range of motion] improvement of 56.3%.
The Efficacy of Laser Therapy for Musculoskeletal and
Skin Disorders: A Criteria-Based Meta-Analysis of
Randomized Clinical Trials, Beckerman H, deBie RA,
Bouter LM, et al. “The efficacy of laser therapy for
musculoskeletal and skin disorders has been assessed on
the basis of the results of 36 randomized clinical
trials (RCTs) involving 1,704 patients. More
specifically, for rheumatoid arthritis, post-traumatic
joint disorders, and myofacial pain, laser therapy seems
to have a substantial specific therapeutic effect. For
this purpose, a criteria-based meta-analysis that took
into account the methodological quality of the
individual trials was used.
Physical
Therapy, 72(7):483-91, 1992 Jul. (60 ref)
The discovery of new applications for low level lasers
are continuing with an impressive array of on-going
research.acupuncture
More details of the Laser therapy can be seen at the at
the following links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photobiomodulation
www.laser.nu
www.walt.nu
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