Photobiomodulation Therapy on Low Back Pain

This is a randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, with voluntary patients with chronic non-specific low back pain.One hundred and forty-eight patients will be randomly allocated to two treatment groups: Placebo or PBMT for 4 weeks (3 times per week, total of 12 sessions of 27 minutes each). The clinical outcomes will be obtained at the completion of treatment (4 weeks) and at 3, 6 and 12 months after randomization. The data will be collected by a blinded assessor. The statistical analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principles and the between-group differences will be calculated by using mixed linear models.

The outcomes of interest are pain intensity, disability, function and global perceived effect.

Inclusion criteria

• patients seeking care for chronic non-specific low back pain (defined as pain or discomfort between the costal margins and the inferior gluteal folds, with or without referred symptoms in the lower limbs, for at least 3 month);
• with a pain intensity of at least 3 points measured by a 0-10 points pain numerical rating scale;
• aged between 18 and 65 years;
• able to read Portuguese.

Exclusion criteria

• evidence of nerve root compromise (i.e. one or more of motor, reflex or sensation deficit);
• serious spinal pathology (such as fracture, tumor, inflammatory and infectious diseases);
• serious cardiovascular and metabolic diseases;
• previous back surgery;
• pregnancy.