ArticleJournal of chiropractic medicine2020
Low-Level Laser Light Therapy Dosage Variables vs Treatment Efficacy of Neuromusculoskeletal Conditions: A Scoping Review.
Article in Journal of chiropractic medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05975957 (Photobiomodulation Therapy to Reduce Pain and Inflammation in Patients With Gonarthrosis), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 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.
Photobiomodulation Therapy to Reduce Pain and Inflammation in Patients With Gonarthrosis: a Multicenter Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Laser acupuncture in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of low-level laser therapy in reducing pain score and healing time of recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Deployable 3D-Printed Vascular Stent with Surface-Catalysed Endogenous Nitric Oxide Generation.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Photobiomodulation and Low-Level Laser Therapy as Complementary Strategies in Diabetes Treatment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- FTIR spectroscopic characterization reveals short-term macromolecular responses to photobiomodulation in mesenchymal stem cells.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effect of Laser Photobiomodulation on Postoperative Pain After Single-Visit Endodontic Treatment in Children: A Randomized Control Trial.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Photobiomodulation as Medicine: Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) for Acute Tissue Injury or Sport Performance Recovery.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Review
- Osteogenic potential of apical papilla stem cells mediated by platelet-rich fibrin and low-level laser.Odontology · 2024Article
- Relationship between Laser Intensity at the Peripheral Nerve and Inhibitory Effect of Percutaneous Photobiomodulation on Neuronal Firing in a Rat Spinal Dorsal Horn.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Signaling pathways in hair aging.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe purpose of this scoping review was to identify and synthesize literature on dosage variables on the efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) for neuromusculoskeletal conditions.
methodsA scoping literature review was conducted by searching the following databases: the Cochrane Library, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, the Index to Chiropractic Literature, manufacturer websites, and online guidelines. The search was modeled after STARLITE criteria. The reporting used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Articles were included if LLLT was used in any treatment group for a neuromusculoskeletal complaint with dosage and effectiveness reported. This was tabulated by source, dosage variables, conditions, outcome measures, and conclusions. Data were charted in Excel format. Frequency counts were performed on ordinal data. Descriptive statistics were computed for the continuous data.
resultsA total of 86 articles were included in the review. They revealed a broad range of musculoskeletal conditions and diverse dosage parameters. Seven individual parameters were found that would alter the dosage. Although duration of application is an independent clinical factor, the negative-outcome studies were inconsistent in duration. There was lack of statistical difference between the studies with improved vs unimproved outcomes. No statistical differences were noted between the dosage parameters and efficacy.
conclusionAlthough many articles were found on LLLT for neuromusculoskeletal conditions, the studies had amorphous parameters. A heterogeneity of reported doses precluded the synthesis of sufficient evidence to correlate dosage variables with improved or unimproved outcomes. Therefore, based on the current literature, dosage variables for the efficacy of LLLT for neuromusculoskeletal conditions are uncertain at this time.
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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.