Category Archives: Research

THOR Literature watch for December 2013 LLLT Low Level Laser Therapy

28 papers for December 2013 starting with a good narrative editorial from Richard Godine DVM who make good points about dose, penetration and treatment guidelines for pets. There is an LLLT study on TMJ pain, a couple of orthodontic tooth movement papers, a clinical trial on subacromial impingement syndrome, Jan Tuner wrote a nice op ed  regarding a failed tinnitus trial pointing out the obvious dosimetry flaws. There is a trial on muscle fatigue in young women, a lichen planus study, gingival hyperplasia and much more (of course).

Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in Veterinary Medicine.

Godine, RL

Ruckersville Animal Hospital and Veterinary Laser Therapy Center , Ruckersville, Virginia.

Posted in Research | on THOR Literature watch for December 2013 LLLT Low Level Laser Therapy

THOR Literature watch for November 2013 Low Level Laser Therapy / Cold Laser / Photobiomodulation PBM

43 LLLT papers for you this month including: Three systematic reviews with meta-analysis on LLLT 1) before, during and after exercises, 2) frozen shoulder/adhesive capsulitis, 3) subacromial impingement syndrome. ALSO a trial showing increased muscle torque in elite athletes, reduced oral mucositis in pediatric cancer patients, LED for TMJ dysfunction, Laser vs LED dentin hypersensitivity, combined autologous PRP and LED for venous ulcers, LED after eccentric exercise (it seems to be a big month for LEDs ) and delightful editorial from Kevin Moore on the early years for LLLT and the World Association for Laser Therapy (WALT).

Posted in Research | on THOR Literature watch for November 2013 Low Level Laser Therapy / Cold Laser / Photobiomodulation PBM

THOR LLLT research, training & conference news Oct 2013

35 papers for you this month: a trial on oral complications in patients with H&N cancer, a meta-analysis of LLLT for oral mucositis, an LLLT neck pain systematic review, a review of laser in orthodontics, a clinical trial on hair growth with LED and laser, and finally another attempt to big up “class IV laser” by misleading readers about parameters. See my rant here.

Posted in Research | on THOR LLLT research, training & conference news Oct 2013

Class IV laser treatments take longer than 3B lasers

A paper titled ”The Effectiveness of Therapeutic Class IV (10 W) Laser Treatment for Epicondylitis” [ref] showed that 10 Watt Class IV laser (mixed 8W 970nm, 2W 810) was successful in reducing pain and improving function in an RCT with 15 patients, and that there was good statistical significance at 6 months following a course of 6 treatments.

The claim by class IV laser manufacturers is that class IV lasers are better (faster, deeper and more effective) than Class 3b and LED systems. Conversely the 3B laser and LED manufacturers argue that less power density is more effective because delivering energy too quickly can overdose tissues and class IV lasers might burn the skin.

Throughout this paper there are marketing messages claiming the advantages  of shorter treatment times than low power LLLT systems and of course the title shouts “10 Watt Class IV laser” just in case the reader is in any doubt that more power is what you need.

Regular readers of this column know my … Continue reading

Posted in Rants, Research | on Class IV laser treatments take longer than 3B lasers

THOR LLLT research, training and conference news September 2013

26 papers for you this month starting with a phase III trial of LLLT to prevent oral mucositis in 94 head and neck cancer patients receiving chemoradiation therapy, a controlled clinical trial on 64 diabetic leg ulcers with THOR LED cluster, a clinical trial on 60 patients with diabetic polyneuropathy, a muscle fatigue study, a rat study on acute joint inflammation which confirms that low irradiance (power density) is better than high (as usual) and that the target is the synovia (not the joint) and, finally, a pointless study on hearing loss with a 635nm laser. They used a green 532nm and a red 635nm laser each 7.5mW, applied to the ear, head, and neck for a total of 5 mins. I’m not sure why anyone would think that was going to work!

Posted in Research | on THOR LLLT research, training and conference news September 2013

THOR LLLT research, training and conference news August 2013

38 papers for you this month starting with a review from Harvard on LLLT for hair loss, a clinical trial on osteoarthritis*, a trial on wound healing post tooth extraction on HIV+ patients* (see rant below), a review of laser vs needles on myofascial trigger points, effect of laser vs needle acupuncture on the CNS, an extensive report on auricular laser acupuncture, a trial using red LED light on muscle activity. I also found 19 LED studies studies that got missed in previous literature watches so I have added those (so you get 57 papers ins all in this literature watch) and that brings the total number of LED research papers in my collection to 260.

Posted in Research | on THOR LLLT research, training and conference news August 2013

THOR LLLT research, training and conference news July 2013

30 papers for you this month starting with a systematic review and a clinical trial on the rate of orthodontic movement, for the first time (so far as I can tell), someone has done a study on telomere length: young fibroblasts treated with LLLT  had decreased shortening rate and LLLT delayed the aging of cells; there is an RCT on whiplash associated disorder, a trial of LED‘s on fatigue and quadriceps power during treadmill training, a combined LLLT and vibration study on cellulite, a paper I collaborated on for LED treatment of head and neck oedema (post cancer surgery of the larynx), 670nm LED down-regulation of nitrosative stress and protection against apoptosis within the CNS in a model of MS, and a study showing that LEDs also induces analgesia in mice.

Posted in Research | on THOR LLLT research, training and conference news July 2013