Knee osteoarthritis / joint pain
Photobiomodulation for knee osteoarthritis pain and disability meta-analysis
Oliveira S, Andrade R, Valente C, et al. Physical Therapy. 2024.
A 2024 placebo-controlled meta-analysis found pain-at-rest improvement but rated certainty as very low.
Evidence grade
low
Effect direction
positive
Panel relevance
partially-replicable
Key findings
- The review included 10 randomized placebo-controlled studies with 542 participants.
- Pain at rest improved versus placebo with a moderate effect estimate.
- The authors judged studies as unclear to high risk of bias and did not recommend isolated PBM use based on the evidence certainty.
Protocol details
| Wavelengths | Not reported nm |
|---|---|
| Irradiance | Not reported mW/cm2 |
| Fluence | Not reported J/cm2 |
| Session time | Not reported minutes |
| Frequency | Varied by trial |
| Duration | Varied by trial |
| Treatment area | Knee |
| Device type | Photobiomodulation devices, mostly clinical devices |
Caveats
- Very low certainty weakens confidence even when pooled effects are positive.
- Consumer panels may not deliver the same joint dose as point-contact clinical devices.