Laser light therapy for chronic neck and shoulder pain.
posted: Dec. 11, 2021.
Laser in Surgery Medicine 2014
Volume 46, Number S25, March 2014
EVALUATION OF LOW-LEVEL LASER THERAPY AT 635nm FOR THE
TREATMENT OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN: A
PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, RANDOMIZED STUDY
Ryan Maloney, Steve Shanks
Phoenix, AZ; Erchonia Corporation, McKinney, TX
Background:
Upper extremity chronic pain is a dyna
mic condition with a multifactorial
etiology and a poorly understood pathogenic mechanism. The most prevalent form of upper
extremity pain is chronic shoulder and neck
pain (cSNP), which affects 10-36% of the
population at some point. Lo
w-level laser therapy (LLLT) has
demonstrated preliminary utility
for the treatment of acute and
chronic pain. Herein, we evaluated the efficacy of LLLT
delivering a wavelength at 635 nm with an outp
ut intensity of 1.0 mW for the relief of cSNP.
Study:
Eighty-six subjects qualified and were en
rolled in a placebo-co
ntrolled, randomized,
double-blind, multi-center study. Degree of Pain rating was recorded using the VAS with O
representing “no pain” and 100 representing “worst pain imaginable.” Linear range of motion
(ROM) was performed to assess pa
tient mobility in the neck-should region using a universal
inclinometer. Participants were
evaluated across four time points: pre-procedure, immediately
post-procedure, and at 24 and 48 hours post-proce
dure. An individual patient success criterion
was defined as a 30% improvement in Degree of Pain rating on the VAS across the two
measurement periods.
Results:
Of the 43 participating test
patients, 28 (65.1%) met the
individual success criteria with 11.
6% of placebo subjects satisfying
the criteria, a difference of 53.5%
in the proportion of individual
participants meeting the success
criteria between test and sham
groups. Test group participants re
ported a reduction of -29.02 for
immediate post-procedure Degree
of Pain ratings on the VAS
(
P
<0.0001), compared with a 4.91
reduction on the VAS for control
subjects. (
P
>0.05). Test group participants demonstrated a
significant improvement in linear
range of motion for the right and
left sides of the neck and right
and left sides of the shoulder.
Conclusion:
These data demonstrate the clinical utility of LLLT at 635nm for the treatment.
Dr. Phil Gainan
6960 Market St.
Boardman,Oh 44512
330 629-9476
Chiropractor near me