PAIN ATTENUATION WITH LOW LEVEL LASER THERAPY ON PERIARTHRITIS SCAPULOHUMERALIS

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The cascade system of biological integrity with an emphasis on low level laser therapy (LLLT) is poorly understood. A clinical study was made to assess pain attenuation with LLLT in connection with serum prostaglandin (PG)E₂ levels. Seventy six women with periarthritis scapulohumeralis, mean age of 61.4 years, were exposed to a diode semiconductor laser unit with an output power of one watt and wavelength of 830 nm. Irradiation was administered for 3 minutes daily or on alternate days, for a total of 10 times. The therapy proved effective in 64 cases or 84.2%. There was no significant correlation between age and length of condition and the effectiveness of LLLT. The relevant pain-scoring system with a visual analog scale (VAS), 30.0±2.0 after irradiation in the clinically affected group, was significantly lower than 80.3±2.5 before irradiation in the same group and also lower than 64.2±6.3 after irradiation in the group unaffected by this therapy. In the affected group PGE₂ levels were 5.4±0.3 after irradiation, which were significantly lower than 7.2±0.5 before irradiation. In the unaffected group, however, there was no significant difference between PGE₂ levels before and after irradiation. Substantial change in PGE₂ levels showed a significant difference by group. The result suggests that LLLT can often alleviate nociceptive pain associated with the decline of serum PGE₂ levels.