Table 5 Characteristics of included trials of Low Level Laser Therapy for pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis
First author, publication year | Intervention type, treatment period | No of patients on active therapy (n = 187) | Method quality | Mean baseline pain (mm VAS) | Best mean difference (95% CI) of change over placebo (mm VAS) | Outcome assessment timepoints (weeks, best time point used in bold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulow-94** | 25 mW, 830 nm, 2.25 J to 10 points 3 times/week, 9 total sessions | 15 | 2 | 82.0 | 8.0 (-10.8 to 26.8) | 3, 6 |
Gøtte-95 | 12 mW, 904 nm, 12 J in 4 points, 3 times/week 12 total sessions | 20 | 3 | 69.0 | 25.0 (9.4 to 40.7) | 4 |
Gur-03 | 10 mW, 904 nm, 2 or 3 J applied to 2 points, 2–3 times week/10 total sessions | 60 | 4 | 73.9 | 25.0 (18.9 to 31.1) | 4, 8, 12 |
Hegedu-06 | 50 mW, 830 nm, 6 J applied to 8 points, 2 times/week, total 8 sessions | 14 | 3 | 57.5 | 25.1 (2.5 to 47.7) | 4, 6, 12 |
Nivbrant-92 | 4 mW 904 nm, 0.7 J in 3 points, 3 times/week, 6 total sessions | 15 | 4 | 67 | 19 (2.4 to 35.6) | 2, 6 |
Stelian-92 | 2.7 mW and 25 mW 904 + 820 nm, 1.3 J and 11.1 J in two points 10 times/week, 20 total sessions | 18 | 4 | 72.0 | 41 (25.4 to 56.6) | 2, 10 |
Tascioglu-05** | 50 mW 830 nm, 1.5 or 3 J in 5 points, 5 times/week, 10 total sessions | 20 | 3 | 66.5 | -0.9 (-11.8 to 10) | 3 |
Yurtkuran-06 ** | 4 mW, 904 nm, 0.48 J in one acupoint (Sp9), 5 times/week, 10 total sessions | 25 | 5 | - | -0.7 (-18.6 to 17.2) | 2, 12 |
Best within 4 weeks, all trials†† | 187 | 17.7 † (8.1 to 27.3) | ||||
Best within 4 weeks, optimal | 142 | 24.2 (17.3 to 31.1) | ||||
6–8 weeks | 104 | 15.5 (9.9 to 20.9) | ||||
12 weeks | 99 | 12.3 (6.7 to 17.9) | ||||
Total | 187 | 3.5* | 70.3† | 3* |