Laser acupuncture appears to improve pain, disability, and physical function in musculoskeletal disorders beyond sham treatment, with benefits unaffected by patient age, sex, or treatment duration.
Researchers systematically searched major medical databases for double-blind randomised controlled trials comparing laser acupuncture with sham treatment in people with musculoskeletal disorders. They combined findings across eligible studies using a random-effects meta-analysis, assessing pain as the main outcome and disability, functional impairment, treatment discontinuation, and sham-treatment effects as additional outcomes. They also examined whether participant age, sex distribution, or treatment duration influenced treatment effects.
Across the included trials, laser acupuncture reduced pain, disability, and functional impairment more effectively than sham treatment. These benefits did not appear to vary according to average participant age, the proportion of women, or treatment duration. Treatment discontinuation was similar between groups, while sham treatment itself improved pain intensity but showed no comparable evidence of improving disability or functional impairment.
