Study of Low-Level Laser Therapy Combined With Exercise for Knee Osteoarthritis in Adults Over 50 Effects on Knee Cartilage Thickness, Muscle Strength, and Clinical Symptoms

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the effects of low-level laser therapy LLLT combined with a conventional home-based exercise program in adults over 50 years old who have knee osteoarthritis. This single-center, prospective, randomized controlled study aims to compare LLLT plus exercise versus exercise alone and to assess impacts on clinical outcomes, femoral cartilage thickness, quadriceps muscle thickness, and regional sarcopenia. The study includes patients with moderate knee osteoarthritis classified by standard criteria. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups follow a 12-week home exercise program involving range of motion, stretching, relaxation, strengthening, and aerobic walking exercises. The LLLT group receives additional laser treatment five times a week for two weeks using a BTL SMART 4000 device at a wavelength of 835 nm and a dose of 10 J per point applied to six points around the knee. If LLLT proves superior, the exercise-only group may later receive the laser therapy. Before treatment and at one and three months after starting treatment, patients undergo evaluations including body measurements, ultrasound assessments of femoral cartilage and quadriceps thickness, the Sonographic Thigh Adjustment Ratio STAR, muscle strength and function tests, pain levels using the Visual Analog Scale VAS, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index WOMAC, and quality of life via the SF-36 questionnaire. Weekly phone calls during the first month and biweekly thereafter support adherence to the exercise program. The study concludes with comprehensive clinical and imaging assessments to measure treatment effects.

Low-Level Laser Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis: Effects on Clinical Outcomes, Femoral Cartilage Thickness and Regional Sarcopenia