Association of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) and exercises programs in pain and functional capacity of patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA): a systematic review of randomized trials

AbstractKnee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common degenerative disease in which several treatments and treatment associations have been investigated. This review analyzed the efficacy of the association of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) and exercises for people with KOA in randomized controlled clinical trials. PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE databases were searched using the following terms: “knee osteoarthritis,” “laser,” “low-level laser,” “photobiomodulation,” “phototherapy,” and “exercise.” Seven RCT studies involving humans that examined PBMT treatment in association with were found. Most studies used mainly near-infrared PBMT irradiation, with a fluence ran ging from 610 mJ/cm2 to 200  J/cm2, 23.55  J to 2400 J total energy per knee, and number of treatment sessions from 10 to 24. In addition, all the protocols included exercises to increase lower limb muscle strength that were performed alone or in association with other types of exercises. However, only 2 studies, considered as a high qual ity, showed the additional effect of PBMT (lower doses) on an exercise program (involving warming-up, motor learning, balance coordination and strengthening exercises, and stretching) for improvement of pain and functional capacity in people with KOA. This review demonstrates that there is a controv ersy on the effects PBMT associated with exercises for pain and functional capacity improvement for people with KOA, because there is a heterogeneity between studi...
Source: Lasers in Medical Science - Category: Laser Surgery Source Type: research