Efficacy and Safety of High Density LED Irradiation Therapy for Patients With Hand Osteoarthritis: A Single-Center Clinical Study

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To assess the safety and effectiveness of high-density light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation therapy in patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA) and compare the pre- and post-intervention symptoms. @*Methods@#Twenty-three patients with hand OA underwent eight sessions of high-density LED irradiation therapy directed at the five most painful areas in the finger joints. Each session lasted for 18 minutes; and the sessions were conducted twice a week, for 4 weeks. We evaluated the degree of pain using the visual analogue scale, ring size, and passive range of motion (flexion+extension) for two most painful joints from the baseline to post-therapy (weeks 4 and 6). @*Results@#High-density LED irradiation therapy significantly reduced the pain posttreatment compared with that observed at the baseline (p0.05). No adverse events were observed. @*Conclusion@#We examined the safety and effectiveness of high-density LED irradiation therapy in reducing pain and hand swelling and improving joint mobility in patients with hand OA. These results suggest that high-density LED irradiation therapy has the potential to be an important strategy for managing hand OA.