Laser therapy for soft tissue injuries – what’s the evidence?

LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) produces coherent electromagnetic radiation that differs from ordinary light in its unique properties of monochromacity, coherence and collimation. This results in the ability to deliver a large amount of energy to a small region over a short period of time [1]. Low level laser therapy (<500 mW; LLLT) is a popular modality in the management of pain, wound healing and soft tissue injury in people and animals [2]. Both in vitro and in vivo studies report biological effects of LLLT, such as increased fibroblast proliferation and collagen production [3], improvement of collagen fibre alignment [4], increase in tendon tensile strength [5] and decreased levels of proinflammatory mediators [6] ...