Investigation of Efficacy of High and Low Intensity Laser Therapy in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of high intensity laser therapy (HILT) and low-intensity laser therapy (LILT) on pain level and disability level in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods: This study was designed as a randomised controlled trial in three groups of 20 participants each. All groups performed home exercise three times a week for three weeks. In addition, the LILT group received laser treatment with an energy density of 50 J/cm2 for 30 min/session for three weeks, totalling nine sessions. The HILT group received a total of 9 sessions of laser treatment in biostimulating mode with 12 W power, 150 J/cm2 energy. Pain level with Visual Analogue Scale and disability was evaluated with Oswestry Disability Index before and after treatment was evaluated. Results: Significant differences were found in pain rest-activity and disability level between the three groups in post-treatment improvements. The HILT group showed significantly higher improvement in pain resting levels compared to the LILT and placebo groups. In disability, the HILT group improvements were significantly higher compared to the placebo group. Conclusion: In conclusion, in this study, HILT application in addition to exercise therapy was found to be more effective than LILT application in reducing resting pain intensity in patients with lumbar disc herniation, and laser dose was found to be effective on pain activity and disability without any difference.