The aim of this review is to evaluate the evidence for laser acupuncture in selected orthopaedic diseases.
Randomized controlled studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews were identified by a systematic search strategy in Medline and the Cochrane library. The studies were evaluated using the quality criteria of the Oxford Centre of Evidence Based Medicine.
For the selected orthopedic diseases (medial and lateral epicondylitis, myofascial pain syndrome of the neck, back and shoulder and osteoarthritis), meta-analyses, systematic reviews and eight randomized controlled studies were found. All other published studies used laser therapy without consideration of classical acupuncture points. All studies had significant drawbacks in methodological quality and the number of patients included. In more recent trials, improvement towards higher methodological quality was obvious. Although current evidence is equivocal, positive effects can be assumed in myofascial pain syndromes of the neck, back and shoulder. Laser acupuncture is advantageous in terms of side effects compared to classical acupuncture techniques.
Better, well designed randomized studies with higher power are mandatory in orthopedic diseases.