Category Archives: Research

Some very interesting papers in this edition including a large back pain RCT of 546 patients, LLLT for major depression and anxiety from Harvard Medical School, Allergic Rhinitis  and another from Harvard on mechanism and dose.

Acute Low Back Pain with Radiculopathy: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.

Konstantinovic LM, Kanjuh ZM, Milovanovic AN, Cutovic MR, Djurovic AG, Savic VG, Dragin AS, Milovanovic ND

1 Clinic for Rehabilitation, Medical School , Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in patients with acute low back pain (LBP) with radiculopathy. Background Data: Acute LBP with radiculopathy is associated with pain and disability and the important pathogenic role of inflammation. LLLT has shown significant anti-inflammatory effects in many studies. Materials and Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed on 546 patients. Group A (182 patients) was treated with nimesulide 200 mg/day and additionally with active LLLT; group B (182 patients) was treated only with nimesulide; and group … Continue reading →

Somehow this paper slipped through the net and missed my literature watch last year

Low-level laser irradiation promotes the recovery of atrophied gastrocnemius skeletal muscle in rats.

Nakano J, Kataoka, H, Sakamoto J, Origuchi T, Okita M, Yoshimura T

Unit of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki 852-8052, Japan.

Low-level laser (LLL) irradiation promotes proliferation of muscle satellite cells, angiogenesis and expression of growth factors. Satellite cells, angiogenesis and growth factors play important roles in the regeneration of muscle. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of LLL irradiation on rat gastrocnemius muscle recovering from disuse muscle atrophy. Eight-week-old rats were subjected to hindlimb suspension for 2 weeks, after which they were released and recovered. During the recovery period, rats underwent daily LLL irradiation (Ga-Al-As laser; 830 nm; 60 mW; total, 180 s) to the right gastrocnemius muscle through the skin. The untreated left gastrocnemius muscle served as the control. In conjunction with LLL irradiation, 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was injected subcutaneously to label the nuclei of proliferating cells. After 2 … Continue reading →

62 LLLT abstracts for you this month and of course we have to start with the Lancet paper on laser for neck pain. You can see a TV interview with the primary author Roberta Chow on the front page of our web site and an audio interview I did back in September is here.  There are as usual more papers showing how important dose and dose-rate-effects are. If you are unsure what W/cm2 are and how many you need then then it’s time you came on our “3 x 3 knowledge matrix” training course. There are trials on myofascial pain,lymphedema, plantar fasciitis, oral mucositis, psoriasis and more. read on

Efficacy of low-level laser therapy in the management of neck pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised placebo or active-treatment controlled trials.

Chow RT, Johnson MI, Lopes-Martins RA, Bjordal JM

Nerve Research Foundation, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

BACKGROUND: Neck pain is a common and costly condition for which pharmacological management … Continue reading →

This excellent paper from Mike Hamblin’s team at Harvard Medical School reviews the LLLT mechanisms and the biphasic dose response. This paper neatly summarises the molecular and cellular mechanisms of LLLT, it gives a scientific explanation for the biphasic dose response, why a low dose has a stimulatory effect and why a high dose inhibits. Low power densities tend to get better healing and anti-inflammatory effects where higher power densities are more likely to inhibit (which may be useful if you just want an analgesic effect). I have to disclose an interest in this paper because I am a co-author.

Biphasic Dose Response in Low Level Light Therapy

Ying-Ying Huang, Aaron C.-H. Chen, James D. Carroll, Michael R. Hamblin

The use of low levels of visible or near infrared light for reducing pain, inflammation and edema, promoting healing of wounds, deeper tissues and nerves, and preventing cell death and tissue damage has been known for over forty years since the invention of lasers. Despite many reports of positive findings from experiments conducted in vitro, in … Continue reading →

30 more papers for your review including: two systematic reviews, one on tendionpathies the other on wound healing. A nice summary by Rochkind on nerve regeneration and several papers on LLLT dose response, dose rate response and dose interval response papers.

Low Level Laser Treatment of Tendinopathy: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.

Tumilty S, Munn J, McDonough S, Hurley DA, Basford JR, Baxter GD

1 Centre for Physiotherapy Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago , Dunedin, New Zealand .

Abstract Objectives: To assess the clinical effectiveness of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in the treatment of tendinopathy. Secondary objectives were to determine the relevance of irradiation parameters to outcomes, and the validity of current dosage recommendations for the treatment of tendinopathy. Background: LLLT is proposed as a possible treatment for tendon injuries. However, the clinical effectiveness of this modality remains controversial, with limited agreement on the most efficacious dosage and parameter choices. Method: The following databases were searched from inception to 1(st) August 2008: MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, AMED, EMBASE, All EBM reviews, … Continue reading →

This has been a long time coming, Steves research to which I have referred may times highlights the importance of treatment parameters. The paper reveals that there is such a thing as too much power density and too much energy density. An important read for everyone in musculoskeletal medicine.

Photomed Laser Surg. 2009 Aug 26. [Epub ahead of print]    Related Articles

Low Level Laser Treatment of Tendinopathy: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.

Tumilty S, Munn J, McDonough S, Hurley DA, Basford JR, Baxter GD.

1 Centre for Physiotherapy Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago , Dunedin, New Zealand .

Abstract Objectives: To assess the clinical effectiveness of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in the treatment of tendinopathy. Secondary objectives were to determine the relevance of irradiation parameters to outcomes, and the validity of current dosage recommendations for the treatment of tendinopathy. Background: LLLT is proposed as a possible treatment for tendon injuries. However, the clinical effectiveness of this modality remains controversial, with limited agreement on the most efficacious dosage and parameter choices. Method: The … Continue reading →