Intraoral Dual Wavelength Laser Diode Therapy for Chronic Maxillary Sinusitis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic sinusitis is one of the most common chronic diseases involving different age groups. The different etiological factors and difficult diagnostic procedures contribute to misdiagnosis and chronicity of sinusitis. There is no standard treatment for sinusitis. Long term use of corticosteroids and antibiotics may lead to numerous adverse side effects. Laser therapy has been suggested as a non-invasive treatment for sinusitis. It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. When considering maxillary sinusitis, discharge tends to collect in the sinus base due to its anatomy and altered physiology. To improve penetration of laser into the maxillary sinus, intraoral laser at the vestibule depth of the maxilla may be more effective. MATERIAL AND SUBJECT: Thirty-four patients with chronic maxillary sinusitis were assigned into two groups. All were assessed before and after treatment. Group A received laser radiation plus standard medical treatment and group B received medical treatment only. The treatment plan was performed in 12 sessions using a Diode laser with a wavelength of 810 nm and 980nm. The SNOT-22 questionnaire and Computed Tomography were used to evaluate patients. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Both groups showed a significant improvement in symptoms following treatment (p < .001), however, the laser therapy group demonstrated greater improvements for all variables in response to treatment as compared to the traditional treatment group (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Using high intensity intra-oral laser therapy with medical treatment is more effective than using medical treatment only for treatment of chronic maxillary sinusitis.

Treatment of drug-resistant fibromyalgia symptoms using high-intensity laser therapy: a case-based review.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic musculoskeletal condition characterized by widespread pain in the body and is associated with tender points at the shoulder, back and hip regions. A wide variety of pharmacologic drugs and dietary supplements have been used with limited success in treating the musculoskeletal pain. Early clinical studies with low level laser therapy (LLLT) alone or in combination with drugs commonly used to treat fibromyalgia suggested that LLLT may be effective in reducing musculoskeletal pain and stiffness, as well as the number of tender locations. However, a sham-controlled study reported that LLLT was not significantly better than the sham treatment and kinesiotape. Preliminary studies with high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) suggest that it may be more effective than LLLT for treating chronic pain syndromes. Therefore, we evaluated low (1 W), intermediate (42 W) and high level (75 W) HILT in a woman with long-standing fibromyalgia syndrome which was resistant to both standard pharmacotherapy and treatment in an interdisciplinary pain management program. The patient received a series of treatments with a HILT device (Phoenix Thera-lase) at a wavelength of 1275 nm administered at both the paraspinous region and tender points in the shoulder and hip regions. Although the 1 W treatment produced minimal symptom relief, both the 42 and the 75 W treatments produced a dramatic reduction in her overall pain, improved quality of sleep, and increased her level of physical activity for 4-10 days after these treatment sessions. This case illustrates the potential beneficial effects of using higher power levels of HILT for patients with fibromyalgia syndrome who have failed to respond to conventional interdisciplinary treatment regimens.

Comparison of the Clinical Results of HILT Versus ESWT in the Lateral Epicondylitis

PURPOSE: To compare the clinical results of High intensity laser therapy (HILT) versus Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in the lateral epicondylitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients who suffer from lateral epicondylitis for more than six month duration were randomly assigned two treatment groups. Group 1 (n=25) was treated with HILT using a HIRO 3.0 laser(ASA srl, Arcugnano, Italy) and total energy was administered approximately 1200J following a standard protocol for each session; Group 2 (n=25) recieved with ESWT treatment using an EvoTron(Switech Medical AG, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland) for a total of 1000 shocks for each session. The patients were evaluated by assessment of pain using visual analog scale (VAS) and simple elbow test (SET). Comparision of overall clinical outcomes were evaluated by Roles and Maudsley score at 9 months. RESULTS: Average VAS and SET scores were significantly improved in two groups, also achieved significant improvement of symptoms at 9 months follow up according to Roles and Maudesley scores(P<0.05). The success rate in the HILT group was 76 % and in the ESWT group was 72 %. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that HILT could be considered as effective and noninvasive treatment modality for lateral epicondylitis.