ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2012
Technical Parameters for Laser Acupuncture to Elicit Peripheral and Central Effects: State-of-the-Art and Short Guidelines Based on Results from the Medical University of Graz, the German Academy of Acupuncture, and the Scientific Literature.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 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
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Acupuncture for neonatal abstinence syndrome in newborn infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Low-Level Laser Therapy for Temporomandibular Disorders: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Pain research & management · 2018Pooled it
- Efficacy of Laser Auricular Acupuncture for Smoking Cessation: A randomised controlled trial.Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Laser acupuncture reduces pain in pediatric kidney biopsies: a randomized controlled trial.Pain · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Low-dose laser acupuncture for non-specific chronic low back pain: a double-blind randomised controlled trial.Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society · 2014Trial
- Laser auriculotherapy for the treatment of pain: a scoping review.Lasers in medical science · 2026Article
- Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children affected by oncologic, neurologic and liver diseases: a narrative review.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2023Review
- Efficacy of Laser Therapy on Paralysis and Disability in Patients with Facial Palsy: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Effect of Lifting-and-Thrusting Laser Acupuncture on Electrodermal Activity of Acupoints, Pulse Characteristics, and Brainwave.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2023Article
- The Effects of Laser Acupuncture Therapy on Nocturnal Enuresis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medical acupuncture · 2022Review
- Article
- Effects of Laser Acupuncture Therapy for Patients With Inadequate Recovery From Bell's Palsy: Preliminary Results From Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Study.Journal of lasers in medical sciences · 2021Article
- Laser Acupuncture Effects on Speech and Social Interaction in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Medical acupuncture · 2020Article
- The Safety of Laser Acupuncture: A Systematic Review.Medical acupuncture · 2020Review
- History of Laser Acupuncture: A Narrative Review of Scientific Literature.Medical acupuncture · 2020Review
- Laser Acupuncture: 35 Years of Successful Application in Russia (Narrative Review).Journal of lasers in medical sciences · 2020Review
- Laserpuncture Increases Serum Concentration of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in Adolescent Rats.Medical acupuncture · 2018Article
- Laser Acupuncture at Large Intestine 4 Compared with Oral Glucose Administration for Pain Prevention in Healthy Term Neonates Undergoing Routine Heel Lance: Study Protocol for an Observer-Blinded, Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The scientific literature in the area of laser acupuncture is rather large; however, the actual mechanisms and effects have not yet been proven in detail. Since the early days of laser acupuncture, there are still many open questions concerning technical parameters of this innovative technique. In this paper, we report about the most important technical parameters (wavelength, output power, power density, energy density, dose range, and continuous or pulsed laser) for laser acupuncture and present quantitative results for optimal laser stimulation, which allow eliciting reproducible effects in the periphery and in the brain. There are several position statements on laser acupuncture and also several review articles in scientific literature concerning clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture. For example, the Australian Medical Acupuncture College stated recently that "the optimal energy density for laser acupuncture and biostimulation, based on current clinical experience, is 4 J/cm(2)". However, our results of previous research studies and of this paper clearly show that dose must be adjusted according to the individual responses.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.