Articles

LLLT in Acute Pain, A Systematic Review of Mechanisms

Objective: To review the biological effects of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in acute pain.

Summary Background Data: It is unclear if and how LLLT can reduce acute pain.

Methods: Literature search of (i) controlled laboratory trials investigating potential biological mechanisms for pain relief.

Results: There is strong evidence from 19 out of 22 controlled laboratory studies that LLLT can modulate inflammatory pain by reducing levels of biochemical markers (PGE2, mRNA Cox 2, IL-1?, TNF?), neutrophil cell influx, oxidative stress and formation of edema and hemorrhage in a dose-dependent manner (median dose 7.5 J/cm², range 0.3 to 19 J/cm²). Four comparisons with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) in animal studies found optimal doses of LLLT and NSAIDS to be equally effective. Steroids seem to give a slightly better modulation of inflammation within 3 days, but his advantage is lost as steroids inhibit soft tissue repair significantly at 1 to 3 weeks.

Conclusion: LLLT can modulate inflammatory processes in a dose-dependent manner and can be titrated to significantly reduce acute inflammatory pain in clinical settings. Further clinical trials with adequate LLLT doses are needed to precisely estimate the effect size for LLLT in acute pain.

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