ABSTRACT
Our study evaluated the effect of photobiomodulation associated with exercise on pain and functionality of patients with knee osteoarthritis. Twenty patients with unilateral or bilateral knee osteoarthritis were selected and divided into two groups: Control group (CG), which underwent photobiomodulation (PBM) placebo and exercise protocol; and the photobiomodulation group (PG), which performed an active application of the PBM and the exercise protocol - performed twice a week for eight weeks and consisting of passive stretching of the lower extremity muscles, straight leg raise, proprioceptive training and exercises for gait control. PBM was applied through a cluster apparatus containing four diodes of 670 nm and five diodes of 850 nm, with an output power of 540 mW and with a dose of 4J / cm2. The groups were evaluated before and after treatment with the SF-36, Lequesne and Tinetti questionnaires as well as the Visual Analog Pain Scale. Data were analyzed using the Anova method, followed by the post-hoc Bonferroni test. The data indicated significant improvements in the PG at the end of treatment for Visual Analog Pain Scale (2±1.25 vs. 0.7±0.82, p=0.009). Although both groups achieved significant improvements throughout the treatment, we could not observe significant differences between them for the rest of the evaluations at the end of the treatment. Therefore, the use of PBM associated with exercises showed pain improvement in patients with knee osteoarthritis, although it was not possible to observe significant differences in patients’ functionality.
Keywords
Osteoarthritis, Knee; Exercise Therapy; Low-Level Light Therapy
