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
From: Lancet. 2009 Nov 12
Neck pain is a common and costly condition for which pharmacological management has limited evidence of efficacy and side-effects. Low-level laser therapy is a relatively uncommon, non-invasive treatment for neck pain, in which non-thermal laser irradiation is applied to sites of pain. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to assess the efficacy of Low-level laser therapy in neck pain. The authors searched computerised databases comparing efficacy of low-level laser therapy using any wavelength with placebo or with active control in acute or chronic neck pain. Effect size for the primary outcome, pain intensity, was defined as a pooled estimate of mean difference in change in mm on 100 mm visual analogue scale. The authors identified 16 randomised controlled trials including a total of 820 patients. In acute neck pain, results of two trials showed a relative risk of 1.69 for pain improvement of low-level laser therapy versus placebo. Five trials of chronic neck pain reporting categorical data showed an relative risk for pain improvement of 4.05 of low-level laser therapy. Patients in 11 trials reporting changes in visual analogue scale had pain intensity reduced by 19.86 mm. Seven trials provided follow-up data for 1-22 weeks after completion of treatment, with short-term pain relief persisting in the medium term with a reduction of 22.07 mm. Side effects from low-level laser therapy were mild and not different from those of placebo. The authors show that low-level laser therapy reduces pain immediately after treatment in acute neck pain and up to 22 weeks after completion of treatment in patients with chronic neck pain.
