Effectiveness of Low-level Laser Therapy for Treatment of Cervical Pain in Patients with Trigger Points of Upper Trapezius

Low-level Laser therapy for Trigger Points of Trapezius

Abstract

Background: Trigger points can cause severe and disabling pain in any skeletal muscle, however, upper trapezius trigger points tend to be more common. They frequently coexist with chronic musculoskeletal problems and cause pain both locally and regionally. The buildup of stress on muscle fibers and the development of trigger points may be caused by acute trauma or recurrent microtrauma. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy for the treatment of cervical pain in patients with trigger points of the upper trapezius muscle. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted comprising 62 patients, randomly allocated into two groups, one received low-level laser therapy and conventional physical therapy while the other group received conventional physical therapy only. Outcome measures including pain intensity, cervical range of motion and neck disability index scores were assessed at baseline and after the 2^nd and 4^th weeks of treatment. While conducting the study, the rules and regulations set by the ethical committee of The University of Lahore were followed and the rights of the research participants were respected. The trial was completed in 9 months duration and data analysis was done using SPSS version 24. Repeated Measure ANOVA was applied with a 0.05 level of significance for the determination of changes in pain, neck disability index, and cervical range of motion parameters within the group. Independent sample t-test was used for the comparison of outcome measures between two treatment groups. Results: Most of the recruited patients were females in sample 50(80.65%). The mean age of participants was 27.81±7.7 years. Intra-group analysis showed significant improvement in all parameters (p<0.05). There was a significant difference between the two groups for neck disability index and numerical pain rating scale (p<0.05). Whereas, results manifest no significant improvement in cervical ranges at 4^th week between both groups. Conclusion: Low-level laser therapy along with conventional physical therapy is proven to be more effective than conventional physical therapy treatment used in patients with trigger points of upper trapezius in terms of reducing pain and disability. However, it does not affect improving the range of motion of the neck.