engleski

Efficacy of low-laser therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy on level of pain, global assessmnet of the disease and function in chronic low-back pain

Background. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) are among commonly used physical therapy modalities in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. Nevertheless their efficacy in chronic low-back pain (CLBP) is controversial. Objective. The aim of the study was to determine and compare the efficacy of LLLT and TENS on pain, global assessment of the disease and function in adult patients with CLBP. Methods. Sixty patients with CLBP (duration 3 months) of both sexes (30 men and 30 women) aged 51.4811.48 years, were assigned to either LLLT or TENS. LLLT of wave-length 808 and 905 nm was performed at power of 1650 mW, for 10 minutes and TENS performed for 20 minutes had frequency of 100-150 Hz. Therapy was administered in lumbar region daily for 5 days per week, to a total of 15 sessions (3 weeks). All patients performed exercise program. Analgesics and/or NSAIDs were not allowed to be changed during the study. Blind efficacy assessment obtained at baseline and at the end of treatment included the level of pain, patient’s global assessment (PGA) of the disease, examiner’s global assessment (EGA) of the disease all three of them measured on 100-mm horizontal visual analogue scale (VAS), as well as function, measured by Roland-Morris questionnaire (RMQ). Apart from descriptive statistics, t-test was used to assess difference between the two groups and between baseline and post-therapeutic data. The level of significance was set at p0.01. Results. The baseline level of low back pain, PGA, EGA and RMQ did not differ between the two study groups (p0.01). At the end of the treatment, significant improvement was observed in both (LLLT and TENS) groups (p0.01), with no difference between them regarding the level of pain, PGA and EGA. The function was better in LLLT group (RMQ=3.97±2.47) than in TENS group (RMQ=6.43±3.37) (p=0.002). Conclusion. In our sample of middle-aged patients with chronic low-back pain LLLT and TENS, along with other rehabilitation treatments, reduced level of pain, improved global assessment of the disease and function. LLLT demonstrated significantly better efficacy on function in comparison to TENS therapy. Further longitudinal studies are needed.

laser; transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation; chronic low-back pain

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