Efficacy of 300 mW, 830 nm Laser in the Treatment of Chronic Neck Pain

We evaluated the effectiveness of 300 mW, 830 nm laser in the management of patients with chronic neck pain, in general practice, between May 1998 and June 1999. Data was obtained from 78 patients who rated self-assessed improvement of symptoms on a visual analog scale. An average improvement of 67. 5 percent was found in 48 patients who reported a positive response to treatment. Number of treatments was the only factor that correlated with a positive response reaching a plateau by 15. Low level laser therapy using this wavelength and power of infrared laser may provide a nondrug, noninvasive option for the management of neck pain. This study lends support for a randomized-controlled trial to further evaluate this therapy.