Trial reportWiener klinische Wochenschrift2006
Adjuvant laser acupuncture in the treatment of whiplash injuries: a prospective, randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Laser acupuncture in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of pain relief effects by laser irradiation on joint areas.Photomedicine and laser surgery · 2012Pooled it
- The status and future of acupuncture clinical research.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2008Pooled it
- Conservative treatments for whiplash.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2007Pooled it
- A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder (WAD): part 2 - interventions for acute WAD.Pain research & managementPooled it
- A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder: part 1 - overview and summary.Pain research & managementPooled it
- Laser acupuncture in patients with temporomandibular dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial.Lasers in medical science · 2013Trial
- Evidence-based care in high- and low-risk groups following whiplash injury: a multi-centre inception cohort study.BMC health services research · 2019Article
- Modern acupuncture-like stimulation methods: a literature review.Integrative medicine research · 2015Review
- Distribution characteristics of meridian sinew (jingjin) syndrome in 313 cases of whiplash-associated disorders.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2015Article
- Methodological shortcomings make conclusion highly sensitive to relevant changes in review protocol.Rheumatology international · 2014Article
- Placebo acupuncture devices: considerations for acupuncture research.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2013Article
- An ICON Overview on Physical Modalities for Neck Pain and Associated Disorders.The open orthopaedics journal · 2013Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
unlabelledFollowing introduction of the compulsory use of seat belts in cars, whiplash injuries of the cervical spine have become common in everyday practice. Current treatment approaches lead to resolution of the symptoms within a short time in most cases but cannot prevent a small proportion of patients developing persistent health problems. The effects of adjuvant treatment with laser acupuncture on the acute symptoms and the results one year after the injury were studied in this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled single-blind study. One group of patients (n = 23) were treated with laser acupuncture (5 mW HeNe laser on 22 acupuncture points for 15 s each) plus cervical collar and a combination of paracetamol and chlormezanone; a second group (n = 22) received the same treatments but with the use of a placebo laser. The treatment was given three times per week until the patient was asymptomatic. No statistically significant advantage of the laser acupuncture treatment was found in the acute phase (mobility in all three planes, duration of pain and duration of use of a cervical collar) or the chronic phase (drug use and the incidences of chronic recurrent problems such as myofascial pain, headaches, vertigo and tinnitus).
conclusionAdjuvant laser acupuncture with a 5 mW HeNe laser and an irradiation time of 15 s appears to be ineffective in the management of whiplash injuries.
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Registered trials
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