Efficacy of high-intensity laser therapy in comparison with conventional physiotherapy and exercise therapy on pain and function of patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial with 12-week follow up

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders causing pain and functional impairment. The purpose of the study is to compare the effects of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT), conventional physical therapy (CPT), and exercise therapy (ET) on pain and function in patients with KOA. The study was designed as an assessor-blind randomized controlled trial. Ninety-three patients (aged between 50 and 75 years) with proved KOA were included and randomly allocated into three groups, and received 12 sessions of HILT, CPT, or ET. The outcomes were pain intensity measured by visual analog scale (VAS), knee flexion range of motion (FROM), timed up and go test (TUG), 6-min walk test (6MWT), and functionality of knee measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) questionnaire. Statistical analyses were done to compare the amounts at the baseline, immediately after treatment and after 12 weeks. HILT was significantly more effective than the other groups in decreasing the VAS, increasing FROM and improving the scores of WOMAC (total and function subscale) both after treatment and after 12 weeks. The effect of HILT and CPT on the TUG, 6MWT, and WOMAC pain subscale was not significantly different after treatment, and both were better than ET. HILT was significantly better than the others after follow-up, particularly more effective on the stiffness subscale of WOMAC. HILT combined with exercise therapy, as a useful therapeutic approach, could have positive influences on KOA patients.

<p>Research Trends of Acupuncture Therapy on Knee Osteoarthritis from 2010 to 2019: A Bibliometric Analysis</p>

“… 13 – 15 Meanwhile, numbers of empirical studies have also demonstrated that exercise therapy could improve the quality of patients’ life, effectively relieve the pain and promote functional recovery. 16 – 18 However, poor long-term adherence is a serious problem that affects the therapeutic effect of exercise treatment. 19 Apart from the aforementioned therapies, as a complementary therapy, acupuncture has become a favorable option for KOA treatment.…”

Efficacy of high-intensity laser therapy on arthropathy of the hands in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a double-blinded, randomized controlled trial

“…The results of this study were in line with other studies that found pulsed Nd:YAG laser therapy superior to conventional therapy for the improvement of joints function and decrease pain. 15,27,[32][33][34] Despite the benefits exercises, patients with chronic pain often reduced their mobility or refrain to do any physical activities to avoid pain. This leads to muscle weakness, decrease range of motion, increase joint stiffness and decrease physical performance.…”

Low level laser therapy for reducing pain in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis: a systematic review

“…Data for OA was available in greater number than for RA, in fact, a paucity of information on the efficacy of LLLT for the treatment of RA was evidenced. This difference in the articles found can be explained by the prevalence of the two diseases since OA is more prevalent than RA [42,43]. In Brazil, OA prevalence rate is 4.14%, whereas RA rate is 0.46% [8] RA is a chronic and progressive systemic rheumatologic disease, mainly affecting joints, also presenting extra-joint manifestations [44,45].…”

“…There is plenty of confusion between the parameters of energy per point, energy density and energy per treatment, which makes the use of this data unfeasible without proper examination via calculations. Some studies [25,28,31,35,37,[41][42][43] had few parameters of use of the resource, both making it impossible to calculate the dosimetry, and impairing reproducibility, thus compromising its methodological quality.…”