Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27630706›Full record

ArticleNeural regeneration research2016

Low-power laser therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome: effective optical power.

Yan Chen, Cheng-Qiang Zhao, Gang Ye, Can-Dong Liu, Wen-Dong Xu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neural regeneration research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Study on Recovery Strategy of Hearing Loss & SGN Regeneration Under Physical Regulation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Yan ChenDepartment of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.ORCID 0000-0002-0999-0819
Cheng-Qiang ZhaoShanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Gang YeDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Can-Dong LiuShanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Wen-Dong XuShanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics · CNTongji Hospital · CNTongji University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Low-power laser therapy has been used for the non-surgical treatment of mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome, although its efficacy has been a long-standing controversy. The laser parameters in low-power laser therapy are closely related to the laser effect on human tissue. To evaluate the efficacy of low-power laser therapy, laser parameters should be accurately measured and controlled, which has been ignored in previous clinical trials. Here, we report the measurement of the effective optical power of low-power laser therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome. By monitoring the backside reflection and scattering laser power from human skin at the wrist, the effective laser power can be inferred. Using clinical measurements from 30 cases, we found that the effective laser power differed significantly among cases, with the measured laser reflection coefficient ranging from 1.8% to 54%. The reflection coefficient for 36.7% of these 30 cases was in the range of 10-20%, but for 16.7% of cases, it was higher than 40%. Consequently, monitoring the effective optical power during laser irradiation is necessary for the laser therapy of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Indexed as

carpal tunnel syndromediode laserlaser power measurementlaser therapymedian nervenerve regenerationneural regenerationperipheral nerve regenerationskin absorptionskin reflectionskin scattering

Identifiers

PMID27630706
PMCPMC4994465
OpenAlexW2492213582

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.