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LASER THERAPY ON LOCOMOTOR DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Physiotherapy has long been contributing for the treatment of musculotendinous and osteoarticular lesions by using several electrothermal and phototherapy resources, such as low-level laser.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to identify, through a systematic review, the effect of low-level laser therapy on locomotor system diseases in rats, mainly the energy dose and wavelength applied, as well as the response to the treatment.

Methods:

Databases Medline, Lilacs, PEDro and SciELO were consulted from January 2005 to May 2013, using the terms "tendinopathy", "laser therapy", "rats", "tendon", "muscle", "bone", "low-level laser therapy", as well as "tendinopatia", "laserterapia", "ratos", "tendão", " músculo", "osso" and "laser de baixa potência". Only experimental studies published in Portuguese and English and that induced lesion in tendons, muscles, bones and/or joints, treated with laser therapy, were included, combined or not with other treatments.

Results:

A total of 30 experimental studies were found in the databases consulted, out of which 15 (50%) were carried out on tendon, 10 (33.33%) on muscle, and five (16.66%) on bone and/or joint. The energy doses most frequently used were 3 J (26.66%) and 1 J (16.66%), while the most frequent wavelengths were 904 nm (21.21%) and 830 nm (21.21%).

Conclusion:

The most expressive information obtained with this therapy was the decrease in inflammatory response (36.66%) in acute orthopaedic lesions.

Keywords:
lasers; tendinopathy; myopathy; arthropathy; bone defect

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