Effects of low-level laser irradiation on cartilage injury in animal models: A systematic review

This systematic review was performed to identify animal research defining the effects of low-level laser irradiation on experimental models of cartilage injury and the impact of dosage. EMBASE, PubMed, and CINAHL were searched for studies in the areas of laser and cartilage repair, published from January 2001 to January 2012. Included studies had to investigate cartilage repair in any animal model using any type of low-level laser irradiation and at least 1 quantitative measure of repair. Seventeen studies from 155 original articles related to laser irradiation and cartilage met our inclusion criteria and were critically appraised by 2 raters independently, using a structured tool designed for rating the quality of animal research studies. Although conclusions are limited by the small number of studies, the scientific literature indicates that low-level laser irradiation can be an effective short-term approach for reducing pain levels, loss of function, and inflammation and for increasing cell proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix elements such as elastic collagen fibers and reticular fibers. However, there was lack of uniformity in the terminology used to describe the parameters and dose used for low-level laser treatment.

Keywords: Laser Therapy, Osteoarthritis, articular cartilage injury