Photobiomodulation Therapy to Reduce Pain and Inflammation in Patients With Gonarthrosis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the main causes of chronic pain and physical disability, which directly impacts the quality of life of patients. The prevalence of OA among adults over 60 years of age is approximately 13% in women and 10% in men. Knee OA (gonarthrosis) has as main risk factors, in addition to age, female gender and obesity. Pharmacological treatment of gonarthrosis is based on approaches to reduce symptoms and/or pain, with joint replacement (arthroplasty) being reserved for more advanced forms of the disease. In general, currently available treatments have only moderate effects and low satisfaction rates among patients. Photobiomodulation Therapy (TFBM) has been used for at least 50 years by health professionals to treat a variety of clinical conditions, especially those associated with chronic pain. TFBM is a treatment using a non-ionizing light source such as Low Intensity Laser (LBI) or Light Emitting Diodes (LED), with near-infrared wavelengths. The aim of this study is to evaluate the intensity of knee pain in the short and medium term after photobiomodulation therapy in patients with gonarthrosis. In this multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, 238 volunteers with gonarthrosis grades II and III according to the Kellgren-Lawrence classification will be recruited to be administered adjuvant treatment with TFBM. The TFBM will be performed in the knee region, twice a week, for five weeks, totaling 10 sessions. Volunteers will be allocated in the intervention group (n=119) or in the placebo group, which will be treated with 10 sessions of inert light (n=119). The hypothesis is that the photobiomodulation therapy will have a positive impact, in the short and medium term, on improving pain, functionality and quality of life of patients with symptomatic gonarthrosis.