Ask The Doctors: March 2010

Cold-laser or low-energy laser therapy has been promoted to relieve pain and improve function in patients with a variety of conditions. A few small studies have shown some effectiveness in decreasing the pain of knee arthritis, and some studies have shown that it can relieve morning stiffness and pain in the hands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to four weeks. More recent, better designed studies, however, have found no benefits in using low-energy lasers to relieve pain in people with RA or other musculoskeletal conditions.