Neck pain
LLLT for myofascial neck pain systematic review and meta-analysis
Tehrani MR, Nazary-Moghadam S, Zeinalzadeh A, et al. Lasers in Medical Science. 2022.
A review of myofascial neck pain RCTs found pain and pressure-pain threshold improvements but weaker disability findings.
Evidence grade
low
Effect direction
positive
Panel relevance
partially-replicable
Key findings
- The review included 13 randomized controlled trials and 556 patients.
- Pooled results favored LLLT for pain reduction and pressure-pain threshold.
- Disability improvement was not statistically clear.
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 | Myofascial neck pain sites |
| Device type | Low-level laser therapy |
Caveats
- Effects on pain do not automatically imply restored function.
- Protocol heterogeneity makes a single consumer dosage difficult to defend.