Laser therapy
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To present incidental findings in patients with low back pain (LBP) who received photobiomodulation (PBM) administered to the back and thighs as an adjunct to physical therapy (PT) and then experienced improvement in concurrent depression. ⋯ This preliminary investigation suggests that an antidepressant effect may result from PBM to the back and thighs in patients with LBP and concurrent depression.
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The first part of this historical overview, (see Laser Therapy, 2014; 23: 89-95), took the reader from the conception of the WFSLMS to its inception at the inaugural meeting in Tokyo, 2005 and events up to the 2009 2(nd) WFSLMS in Tokyo when the author was the congress president. The previous article also dealt with the necessity for founding a non-profit organization, NPO-WFSLMS, to handle the commercial and social responsibilities of the WFSLMS. For details, please refer to that previous article. Meetings: The 2(nd) WFSLMS congress was successfully held in 2009 in Japan, under the presidency of Professor Krishna Rau. The third WFSLMS meeting was planned for Paris in 2013 together with the 20(th) ISLSM congress under the Meeting Presidency of Dr Jean Abitbol, while the 19(th) ISLSM was to be held in Korea in 2011 under the Meeting Presidency of Prof. Jin-Wang Kim. Unforseen problems beyond the control of the organizers forced the cancellation of both the 19(th) and 20(th) meetings of the ISLSM, the latter also being the location of the planned third WFSLMS congress in Paris, but with the cooperation of the organizers of the 5(th) congress of the International Phototherapy Association (IPTA) the 3(rd) WFSLMS meeting was held in Lithuania, again under the presidency of Prof Rau concurrently with the 20(th) ISLSM, at which much was debated regarding the future course of NPO-WFSLMS and WFSLMS. The venue of the 2015 21(st) ISLSM Congress was set as Indore, India, and the 4(th) WFSLMS meeting was allocated to Florence, Italy, in tandem with the 22(nd) ISLSM congress. ⋯ The WFSLMS will make more active overtures to solidify the inter-society cooperation among as many of the major laser societies as possible, both national and international. There are problems to be faced and overcome, but in a mood of cautious optimism, NPO-WFSLMS will work with WFSLMS and ISLSM towards this very worthwhile goal.
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The assessment of the efficacy of low level laser therapy (LLLT) for pain attenuation varies among institutions, all having their own method of assessment with no common standards. At the author's institution in the beginning, the patients were asked how they assessed their pain relief immediately after the treatment. They were to choose from excellent, good, fair, no change and poor. ⋯ The new standard defined excellent as pain reduction in any treatment session from 10 to 0 or 1, good as reduction from 10 to 2∼5, fair as reduction from 10 to 6∼8, no change as a reduction from 10 to 9∼10 and poor was defined as exacerbation of pain from 10 to 11 or greater. Efficacy rate was calculated by the number of patients scoring excellent and good expressed as a percentage of the total number of patients. For the purpose of reference, the VAS was to be used for patients receiving the treatment for the first time.