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Effect of combined laser acupuncture on knee osteoarthritis: a pilot study

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Abstract

Our objective was to assess the efficacy and safety of combined 10.6 μm and 650 nm laser irradiation on patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Forty patients with OA were randomly allocated to an active laser group or to a placebo laser group (20 per group). They either received active or sham laser treatment at acupoint Dubi (ST 35) in a total of 12 sessions. There was significant difference between the two groups in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index pain score change from baseline after 2 weeks of treatment (P = 0.047). The pain reduction of the active laser treatment group was 49%, whereas that of the placebo control group was only 13%. However, due to the high patient drop-out rate, the 4-week assessment could not be analyzed. Combined laser treatment seems beneficial to patients with knee OA. However, due to the small sample size and the high drop-out rate of patients in the placebo group, a large sample-size clinical trial is warranted to determine further the therapeutic efficacy of the device.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Min Xijin and Cao Yuelong for their patient evaluation, Song Hualing for part of the statistical analysis, and Lyn Lowry for English editorial support. The project was partially supported by NSFC (30572306), 973 Program of China (2005CB523306) and by Shanghai Science and Technology Developing Foundation (07DZ19722-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cailun Road, Shanghai, 201203, China

    Xueyong Shen, Ling Zhao, Lizhen Wang & Lixing Lao

  2. Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai, China

    Xueyong Shen & Guanghong Ding

  3. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Ming Tan & Lixing Lao

  4. Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Jianping Gao

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  1. Xueyong Shen
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Correspondence to Xueyong Shen.

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Shen, X., Zhao, L., Ding, G. et al. Effect of combined laser acupuncture on knee osteoarthritis: a pilot study. Lasers Med Sci 24, 129–136 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-007-0536-9

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