Fibromyalgia
LLLT for fibromyalgia systematic review and meta-analysis
Yeh SW, Hong CH, Shih MC, et al. Pain Physician. 2019.
A meta-analysis reported improvements in fibromyalgia impact, pain, tender points, fatigue, stiffness, depression, and anxiety versus placebo laser.
Evidence grade
low
Effect direction
positive
Panel relevance
partially-replicable
Key findings
- The review included nine RCTs with 325 fibromyalgia patients.
- LLLT improved Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire scores, pain severity, tender points, fatigue, stiffness, depression, and anxiety versus placebo.
- Adding LLLT to standardized exercise showed no extra advantage in some comparisons.
Protocol details
| Wavelengths | Not reported nm |
|---|---|
| Irradiance | Not reported mW/cm2 |
| Fluence | Not reported J/cm2 |
| Session time | Not reported minutes |
| Frequency | Varied by trial |
| Duration | Varied by trial |
| Treatment area | Tender points or musculoskeletal targets |
| Device type | LLLT; one RCT used combined LLLT/LED phototherapy |
Caveats
- Included studies had low-to-middle methodological quality.
- Fibromyalgia is systemic; targeted trial protocols are not equivalent to generic whole-body panel claims.