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Long-term effect of high-intensity laser therapy in the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized blinded placebo-controlled trial

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A Correction to this article was published on 02 December 2019

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT), alone or combined with exercise, in the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP). A total of 72 male patients participated in this study, with a mean (SD) age of 32.81 (4.48) years. Patients were randomly assigned into three groups and treated with HILT plus exercise (HILT + EX), placebo laser plus exercise (PL + EX), and HILT alone in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The outcomes measured were lumbar range of motion (ROM), pain level by visual analog scale (VAS), and functional disability by both the Roland Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) and the Modified Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (MODQ). Statistical analyses were performed to compare the differences between baseline and post-treatment measurements. The level of statistical significance was set as P < 0.05. ROM significantly increased after 4 weeks of treatment in all groups, then significantly decreased after 12 weeks of follow-up, but was still significantly more than the baseline value in groups 1 and 2. VAS, RDQ, and MODQ results showed significant decrease post-treatment in all groups, although the RDQ and MODQ results were not significantly different between groups 2 and 3. HILT combined with exercise appears to be more effective in patients with CLBP than either HLLT alone or placebo laser with exercise.

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Change history

  • 02 December 2019

    After publication of this paper, the authors determined that the name of the author Tamer Mohamed Shosha was incorrectly spelled. The correct presentation should be Tamer Mohamed Shousha.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their appreciation to all subjects who participated in this study with all content and cooperation, and give special thanks to their colleagues at the Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Umm AL-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. They also thank Dr. Hesham Gad Alrab, assistant professor, Faculty of Education, Mansura University, Egypt, for technical support and statistical analysis.

Conflict of interest

There is no financial and personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Basic Science Department, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, 7 Ahmed Elziat Street from Eltahrir Street, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamed Salaheldien Mohamed Alayat & Azza Mohamed Atya

  2. Department of Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamed Mohamed Ebrahim Ali

  3. Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

    Mohamed Mohamed Ebrahim Ali & Tamer Mohamed Shosha

Authors
  1. Mohamed Salaheldien Mohamed Alayat
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  2. Azza Mohamed Atya
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  3. Mohamed Mohamed Ebrahim Ali
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  4. Tamer Mohamed Shosha
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Correspondence to Mohamed Salaheldien Mohamed Alayat.

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Alayat, M.S.M., Atya, A.M., Ali, M.M.E. et al. Long-term effect of high-intensity laser therapy in the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized blinded placebo-controlled trial. Lasers Med Sci 29, 1065–1073 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-013-1472-5

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