Published: Lasers Surg. Med. 2016; 48: 653-659. doi: 10.1002/lsm.22522
Keyword: laser irradiation, photoneuromodulation, dorsal root ganglion, back pain, lidocaine injection, radiofrequency treatment
Author(s): "Holanda VM, Chavantes MC, Silva DFT, de Holanda CVM, De Oliveira Jr. JO, Wu X, Anders JJ"
Pilot study to investigate treatments for chronic low back pain with three treatment groups: lidocaine injection, radiofrequency treatment and percutaneous photobiomodulation. Laser irradiation caused an immediate decrease in low back pain post-procedure similar to pain reduction caused by lidocaine injection. Both lidocaine injection and laser irradiation were more effective than radiofrequency treatment for immediate and longer term (1 month post-treatment) chronic back pain.