Effects of laser therapy versus laser acupuncture on rheumatoid arthritis elderly patients

ObjectiveRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is regarded as the commonest and one of most knowninflammatory arthritis. Our study was to determine the effects of laser therapy and laseracupuncture therapy on RA elderly patients.Subjects and MethodsForty patients with age of 65 to 75 years were being randomly allocated to 2 groups. Group(A)included twenty participants having RA treated via low level laser therapy. Group(B) includedtwenty participants having RA treated via laser acupuncture. All the patients underwenttreatment by methotrexate. Treatments were provided three times each week to the two groupsfor twelve weeks.Independent laboratory technician and statistician were blinded to the studygroups.ResultsThere was significant reduction in scores of RAQoL questionnaire pre as well as posttreatments for both the groups, with p<0.05. For HAQ questionnaire, significant differencewas in the group treated with laser acupuncture. The IL-6 inflammatory marker had asignificant reduction in pre as well as post treatments in only the group treated with laser acupuncture, with p < 0.05. In the MDA marker, it had a significant reduction in both groupsfor pre as well as post treatments. There was also a significant increase to the ATP antioxidantmarker in pre as well as post treatments for both the groups, p<0.05.ConclusionsThis study suggested that the laser acupuncture can offer promising therapeutic benefits toassess in rheumatoid arthritis treatments; those therapeutic effects might be frominflammation reduction and oxidation stress alleviation, in addition to improvements in theantioxidants and energy status for RA patients.