Low-Level Laser Therapy for Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain and tenderness. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT), an emerging nonpharmacological treatment, has been used for relieving musculoskeletal or neuropathic pain. The objective of this review and meta-analysis was to determine the efficacy of LLLT on patients with fibromyalgia. Asystematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs evaluating the effect…

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and analysis

Traditionally, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has been used to treat a limited repertoire of disease, including decompression sickness and healing of problem wounds. However, some investigators have used HBOT to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Comprehensive searches were conducted in 8 scientific databases through 2011 to identify publications using…

Repetitive hyperbaric oxygen treatment attenuates complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced pain and reduces glia-mediated neuroinflammation in the spinal cord

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is reported to attenuate pain in both clinical pain conditions and animal pain models, but the underlying mechanism remains to be investigated. Here, we show that 7 daily 60-minute HBO (100% oxygen, 2 atmosphere absolute) treatments effectively and persistently inhibited heat hyperalgesia, mechanical allodynia, and paw edema induced by peripheral injection…

Hyperbaric oxygen induces a cytoprotective and angiogenic response in human microvascular endothelial cells

A genome-wide microarray analysis of gene expression was carried out on human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) exposed to hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) under conditions that approximated clinical settings. Highly up-regulated genes included immediate early transcription factors (FOS, FOSB, and JUNB) and metallothioneins. Six molecular chaperones were also up-regulated immediately following HBOT, and all of these…

Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy effectiveness in low back pain: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Low back pain is a worldwide prevalent musculoskeletal condition in the general population. In this sense, the pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) therapy has shown significant clinical benefits in several musculoskeletal conditions. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the PEMF therapy in reducing pain and clinical symptomatology in patients with low back pathological…

Effect of pulsed electromagnetic field on nonspecific low back pain patients: a randomized controlled trial

Further research on pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) effects on the different conditions of low back pain was warranted due to lack of studies in this area. To investigate the effects of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy with 50 Hz frequency, with low intensity of 20 Gauss compared to conventional non-invasive treatment modalities in patients with chronic…

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field and wound healing: Implication of cytokines as biological mediators

Wound healing is a highly coordinated and complex process involving various cell types, chemical mediators and the surrounding extracellular matrix, resulting in a tightly orchestrated re-establishment of tissue integrity by specific cytokines. It consists of various dynamic processes including a series of overlapping phases: inflammation, proliferation, re-epithelialization and remodeling. One of the underlying mechanisms responsible…

Incorporation of photobiomodulation therapy into a therapeutic exercise program for knee osteoarthritis

This was a placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical trial to investigate the clinical effects of incorporation of phototherapy in a therapeutic exercise program for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) when compared to a group that received exercise alone and to a group that received exercise + placebo phototherapy. Exercise + active phototherapy was significantly more effective than…

Incorporation of photobiomodulation therapy into a therapeutic exercise program for knee osteoarthritis

This was a placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical trial to investigate the clinical effects of incorporation of phototherapy in a therapeutic exercise program for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) when compared to a group that received exercise alone and to a group that received exercise + placebo phototherapy. Exercise + active phototherapy was significantly more effective than…