SynthesisAging clinical and experimental research2024
A systematic review and network meta-analysis on the optimal wavelength of low-level light therapy (LLLT) in treating knee osteoarthritis symptoms.
Synthesis in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07422272 (Examining of the Acute Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Examining of the Acute Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) on Pain Threshold and Tolerance: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Efficacy of laser acupuncture for patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Lasers in medical science · 2026Pooled it
- Deep Learning-Based OCT Segmentation for Stiffness Quantification in Evaluating Low-Level Laser Therapy for Wound Healing.Journal of biophotonics · 2026Trial
- Trial
- From concept to practice: intra-articular photobiomodulation for knee osteoarthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Low-level laser therapy in osteoarthritic pain: A narrative review with an approach to integrated clinical use.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Review
- Physical modalities for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a network meta-analysis.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo compare the efficacy of the various wavelengths of low-level light therapy (LLLT) in alleviating knee pain, dysfunction, and stiffness in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and to compare the effectiveness of LLLT versus sham treatment in reducing knee pain, dysfunction, and stiffness.
methodsPubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched from inception to 12 December 2023. Randomized controlled trials that assessed the effects of different wavelengths of LLLT on alleviating pain of patients with KOA were included. A conventional meta-analysis and network meta-analysis were preformed, and standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.
resultsThirteen studies involving 673 participants with KOA met inclusion criteria. Overall, LLLT was superior to sham LLLT for relieving pain (SMD = 0.96, 95% CI 0.31-1.61) but not for improving function (SMD = 0.21, 95% CI - 0.11 to 0.53) or stiffness (SMD = 0.07, 95% CI - 0.25 to 0.39). Surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) value ranking showed the most effective wavelength of LLLT in reducing KOA pain was 904-905 nm (SUCRA, 86.90%), followed by multi-wavelengths (MWL) (SUCRA, 56.43%) and 785-850 nm (SUCRA, 54.97%). Compared to sham LLLT, L2 (SMD = 1.42, 95% CI = 0.31-2.53) and L1 (SMD = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.11-1.50) showed a significant reduction in KOA pain. However, MWL (SMD = 0.83; 95% CI = - 0.06 to 1.72) showed similar KOA pain reduction compared to sham LLLT. The certainty of evidence showed that the quality of evidence regarding the effectiveness of overall LLLT versus sham, and 904-905 nm versus sham were low, while the quality of evidence for MWL versus sham, and 785-850 nm versus sham was very low.
conclusionWhile the 904-905 nm wavelength showed potential benefits in reducing KOA pain, the overall quality of the evidence was low. LLLT with 904-905 nm or 785-850 nm wavelengths yielded significantly better reduction in KOA pain compared to sham LLLT, but further high-quality research is warranted to validate these findings.
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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.