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High-intensity laser therapy penetrates deeper than low-level therapy, improving relaxation and blood flow for faster pain relief and reducing reliance on pain medications when combined with exercise.
A combination of laser therapies [such as high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) and low-level laser therapy (LLLT)] along with physical therapies has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. A recent systematic review and network meta-analysis in the ‘Journal of Lasers in Medical Science’ found that while both HILT and LLLT with exercise proved beneficial for knee OA, HILT + exercise managed to be more effective. The study authors executed a literature search in Embase, PubMed, and Scopus without any language restrictions.
After analyzing the data from 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) spanning over three decades, the study researchers examined the effectiveness of HILT and LLLT combined with knee OA exercise therapy, focusing on pain reduction and functional improvement. A network meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effects model to pool continuous data on visual analogue scale (VAS) pain and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) function scores, reporting standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
The findings indicated remarkable enhancements in pain and function scores after four and eight weeks of treatment in groups treated with LLLT + exercise and HILT+ exercise compared to placebo + exercise. Notably, HILT + exercise demonstrated a greater reduction in VAS pain (SMD = -1.41; 95% CI: -2.05 to -0.76) and better improvement in WOMAC function (SMD = -2.20; 95% CI: -3.21 to -1.19) when compared to LLLT + exercise at the eight-week mark.
Journal of Lasers in Medical Science
Efficacy of High-Intensity and Low-Level Laser Therapy Combined With Exercise Therapy on Pain and Function in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis
Majid Khalilizad et al.
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