Effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy associated with multimodal therapeutic intervention program versus multimodal therapeutic intervention program in chronic non-specific neck pain: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) has shown benefits for musculoskeletal disorders, but its additive effects when combined with the Multimodal Therapeutic Intervention Program (MTIP) in chronic nonspecific neck pain (CNSNP) remain uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of PBMT combined with an MTIP on functional capacity, pain intensity, catastrophizing, and kinesiophobia in individuals with CNSNP. METHODS: This was a two-arm, parallel, single-blind, superiority randomized controlled trial. Sixty-two participants with CNSNP were randomly allocated to either PBMT+MTIP or MTIP only. Both groups received an 8-week MTIP program; only the experimental group received additional infrared laser PBMT. The primary outcome was functional disability (Neck Disability Index). Secondary outcomes included pain intensity at rest and during movement (Numerical Pain Rating Scale), catastrophizing (Pain-Related Catastrophizing Thoughts Scale), kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia), functional disability (Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale), and global perceived effect. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up. Linear mixed models were used for analysis. RESULTS: Fifty-six participants completed the 8-week follow-up, and fifty-two completed the 1-month follow-up. Statistically significant differences favoring the MTIP group were found in functional disability post-intervention (4.06, 95% CI 2.83 to 5.28) and at the one-month follow-up (3.23, 95% CI 1.97 to 4.48). Pain intensity at rest also showed statistically significant differences favoring the MTIP group post-intervention (0.54, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.95) and at the one-month follow-up (0.79, 95% CI 0.37 to 1.21). CONCLUSION: Under the specific PBMT dosage conditions, adding PBMT to MTIP did not yield further improvements over MTIP alone in individuals with CNSNP.