The effects of laser therapy on pain, functionality and biomechanical parameters in patients suffering from gonarthrosis: an observational study

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) consists of a heterogeneous pathology of the peripheral joints, characterized by a complex, multifactorial nature and with multiple risk factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of laser therapy on pain and biomechanical parameters in patients with KOA. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out for patients with KOA (I-II Kellgren-Lawrence). All patients underwent 10 sessions of Laser therapy (three/week). Patients were evaluated at T0 and 22 days later-T1. At T0, before the treatment and at T1 pain (Visual Analogue Scale-VAS), symptoms (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-KOOS and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index-WOMAC) and instrumental assessment (gait analysis) were assessed. Results: Twelve patients were included. A significant difference was found in all three scales between T0-T1, VAS decreased by three points (p=0.002), KOOS increased by fifteen points (p=0.008) and WOMAC decreased by 8.5 (p=0.003). For gait analysis parameters, we detected a significant decrease in stance duration (p=0.04), a marked increase in speed normalized to height (p=0.01), an increase in knee ROM (p=0.01) and an increase in maximum knee moment (p=0.02). Conclusions: Laser therapy is an effective intervention in the management of KOA. Our study showed that laser therapy is effective in relieving pain and improving symptoms as well as gait parameters.