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Yu-Chiang Hung,1,* Pao-Yen Lin,2,* Hsienhsueh Elley Chiu,1 Po-Yu Huang,1 Wen-Long Hu1,3,4 1Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 2Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 3Fooyin University College of Nursing, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Kaohsiung Medical University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Wen-Long HuDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 123, Dapi Road, Niaosong District, Kaohsiung City, 833, TaiwanEmail oolonghu@gmail.comObjective: To evaluate the treatment effectiveness of laser acupuncture (LA) in patients with musculoskeletal pain.Methods: Major electronic databases, including Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Scopus were searched to identify double-blind, randomized controlled trials of LA in musculoskeletal disorders. The primary outcome was the treatment efficacy for pain. The secondary outcomes included the comparison of disability, functional impairment, and dropout rate between LA and sham treatment, as well as the effect of sham treatment for pain. The results from included studies were synthesized with the random effects model.Results: In total, 20 articles comprising 568 patients receiving LA and 534 patients receiving sham treatment were included in the current study. Our analysis showed LA significantly reduced pain (g=0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.35 to 1.42, p=0.001), disability (g=0.68, 95% CI=0.29 to 1.08, p< 0.001), and functional impairment (g=0.67, 95% CI=0.32 to 1.03, p< 0.001). Through meta-regression analysis, we found these effects were not moderated by mean age, the percentage of females, or treatment duration. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the two groups in dropout rate (risk ratio=0.73, p=0.08), and the sham treatment significantly reduced only pain intensity (g=0.54, 95% CI=0.32 to 0.77, p< 0.001).Conclusion: Our findings supported that LA significantly reduced pain, disability, and functional impairment in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Further researches are required to determine the optimal therapeutic parameters and the suitable patients for receiving LA.Protocol Registration: CRD42020190919.Keywords: laser acupuncture, meta-analysis, pain, randomized controlled trial, traditional Chinese medicine |
