High-frequency laser therapy: a new alternative to physiotherapy in the treatment of cervical disk hernia
2024

High-Frequency Laser Therapy for Cervical Disk Hernia

Sample size: 150 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Kuculmez Ozlem, Dündar Ahi Emine, Cosar Sacide Nur, Guzel Sukran

Primary Institution: Baskent University Alanya Hospital, Antalya, Türkiye

Hypothesis

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of physiotherapy, high-frequency laser, and exercise therapy methods in the treatment of pain in cervical disk herniation.

Conclusion

High-frequency laser therapy and physiotherapy significantly improved pain and function in patients with cervical disk hernia, with no significant difference between the two treatments.

Supporting Evidence

  • Patients showed significant improvement in pain and function after treatment.
  • Physiotherapy and high-frequency laser therapy were more effective than exercise alone.
  • Statistical analysis confirmed the significance of the results with p-values less than 0.05.

Takeaway

Doctors tested three treatments for neck pain from a disk problem: laser therapy, regular physiotherapy, and exercise. The laser and physiotherapy worked best.

Methodology

A multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial with patients aged 18-65 diagnosed with cervical disk hernia, comparing three treatment groups.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to non-probability sampling and the higher pretreatment median SF-36 score in the exercise group.

Limitations

The study did not include a placebo laser protocol and lacked standardization for the number of sessions and dosage of laser therapy.

Participant Demographics

54.7% women, 45.3% men, mean age 45.37 years, body mass index 25.81 kg/m2.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.3389/fmed.2024.1429660

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