Pin Yi Wu, I Wen Penn, Pei Hsin Lin, Jia Chi Wang, Eric Chuang, Szu Hsien Wu and Tien Yow Chuang
Objective: Fibromyalgia, labeled for an illness of wide spreading pain, fatigue, restless sleep, gastrointestinal disturbances, and mood disorders, is a complex and heterogeneous disease. Novel and improved treatments would allow healthcare professionals to improve the conditions of patients with fibromyalgia. For instance, photo biomodulation is a new treatment that minimizes heavy usage of drugs and side effects. This study investigated the clinical effects of intravenous laser irradiation of blood on pain, sleep, mood disorders, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia.
Methods: Fifteen patients diagnosed as having fibromyalgia based on the modified 2010 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology from an outpatient clinic were recruited. Before admission, all subjects were asked to submit visual analog scale (VAS), numbers of tender points, revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) according to their outcomes before/after drugs in a previous outpatient clinic. After admission, all participants received two courses of intravenous laser irradiation of blood, each course is composed of 10 intravenous laser irradiation of blood sessions, each session of the therapeutic duration lasted for 60 minutes. Two consecutive courses had a 7-day rest interval. The trial lasted for 4 weeks. Outcomes based on patient-reported symptoms of the aforementioned tests were evaluated on two separate occasions: baseline and within 24 hours after the last day of the protocol.
Results: The drugs resulted in significant reduction in pain intensity only. However, the before/after comparisons of intravenous laser irradiation of blood showed a significant improvement in VAS (p=0.001), number of tender points (p=0.002), FIQR (p=0.001), BDI (p=0.003) and PSQI (p=0.01). We also noted significantly positive effects of ILIB compared with drugs in all tests.
Conclusion: Intravenous laser irradiation of blood had a better effect on pain severity, sleep, mood disorder, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia. No unfavorable events were recorded; thus, intravenous laser irradiation of blood appears to be an effective treatment for patients with fibromyalgia.