Synergistic effects of vacuum therapy and laser therapy on physical rehabilitation.
Larissa Aparecida Biason Lopes, Carolina Alvarez, Thays Yara Teófilo Borges Campos and 2 others
PMID 31417228WHAT IT FOUND
Pain was reported to decrease 100% and some shoulder, lumbar and hip movements increased after 10 sessions combining vacuum and laser therapy.
Because both treatments were given together and neither was tested alone, this does not show either one worked.
Key findings
01After 10 sessions of combined vacuum and laser therapy, pain was reported to reduce by 100% and shoulder flexion, extension and abduction increased.
02After 10 sessions of combined vacuum and laser therapy, pain was reported to reduce by 100% and lumbar flexion, extension and side flexion increased.
03After 10 sessions of combined vacuum and laser therapy, pain was reported to reduce by 100% and hip flexion, abduction and adduction increased.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This is a case series, so it describes what happened to a small number of patients rather than testing whether the treatment works. The combined vacuum and laser treatment was not compared with vacuum therapy alone or laser therapy alone, so the contribution of each component cannot be separated. Pain and range of motion were measured only before and after the 10 sessions, with no follow-up reported. The paper states that the synergistic application of vacuum therapy and laser therapy has not yet been demonstrated.
Declared interests
Funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). All authors declared no conflict of interest. The vacuum laser system was developed by IFSC-USP researchers in partnership with MM Optics.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that vacuum therapy and laser therapy together work better than either alone. The paper reports improvements in individual cases, but it did not compare the combined treatment with vacuum therapy alone or laser therapy alone, so the contribution of each component cannot be separated.