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Photobiomodulation improves motor response in patients with spinal cord injury submitted to electromyographic evaluation: randomized clinical trial

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Abstract

Photobiomodulation is a treatment that has been widely used in neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, low-level laser therapy was administered to patients with spinal cord injury. Twenty-five individuals were divided into two groups: placebo photobiomodulation plus physiotherapy and active photobiomodulation plus physiotherapy. Electromyographic evaluations were performed before and after 12 sessions of phototherapy as well as 30 days after the end of treatment. In the active phototherapy group, median frequency values of the brachial biceps and femoral quadriceps muscles were higher at rest and during isotonic contraction 30 days after photobiomodulation (p = 0.0258). No significant results were found regarding the rest and isotonic conditions in the pre-photobiomodulation period (p = 0.950) or immediately following photobiomodulation (p = 0.262). The data provide evidence that phototherapy improves motor responses in individuals with spinal cord injury, as demonstrated by differences in the EMG signal before and after treatment. Trial registration: NCT 03031223

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University (UNINOVE), São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Fernanda Cordeiro da Silva, Andréa Oliver Gomes, Paulo Roberto da Costa Palácio & Fabiano Politti

  2. Postgraduate Program in Biophotonics Applied to Health Sciences, Nove de Julho University (UNINOVE), São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Daniela de Fátima Teixeira da Silva

  3. Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences and Postgraduate Program in Biophotonics Applied to Health Sciences, Nove de Julho University (UNINOVE), Rua Vergueiro, 235/249, Liberdade, São Paulo, SP, 01504-000, Brazil

    Raquel Agnelli Mesquita-Ferrari, Kristianne Porta Santos Fernandes & Sandra Kalil Bussadori

Authors
  1. Fernanda Cordeiro da Silva
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  2. Andréa Oliver Gomes
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  3. Paulo Roberto da Costa Palácio
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  4. Fabiano Politti
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  8. Sandra Kalil Bussadori
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra Kalil Bussadori.

Ethics declarations

This study received approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the university under protocol CAAE: 56952716.2.0000.5511. All participants or their legal guardians received clarifications regarding the objectives and procedures of the study and those agreeing to participate signed a statement of informed consent.

Ancillary and post-trial care

At the end of the study, all volunteers allocated to the control group received phototherapy with the same protocol administered to the treatment group to avoid any inequality regarding treatment among the individuals.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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da Silva, F.C., Gomes, A.O., da Costa Palácio, P.R. et al. Photobiomodulation improves motor response in patients with spinal cord injury submitted to electromyographic evaluation: randomized clinical trial. Lasers Med Sci 33, 883–890 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-018-2447-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-018-2447-3

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