Low-level laser therapy and anesthetic infiltration for orofacial pain in patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: To compare the analgesic effect of anesthetic infiltration of lidocaine 2% and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) by GaAlAs into tender points of patients with orofacial pain and fibromyalgia (FM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A randomized clinical trial was performed with adults (N=66) that were allocated into two groups (1:1): Group A received LLLT irradiation by Diode Laser GaAlAs (780nm) with expositions twice a week during six weeks and Group B was treated with anesthetic infiltration of lidocaine 2% without vasoconstrictor once a week for four weeks. The pain assessment included the Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) and tenderness to palpation. RESULTS: No dropout and adverse effect was observed during the study. The pain decreased significantly in each group after the treatment (p=0.0001, β=1.0), even though no statistical difference was found between both treatments (p=0.46, β= 0.82). The presence of tender points decreased after both treatments, with responsively in some types of masticatory muscles (p<0.05) except posterior temporalis muscle. The patients’ perception showed that both treatments were effective and a few patients reported that the treatment did not improve welfare. CONCLUSIONS: The LLLT by GaAlAs and anesthetic infiltration of lidocaine 2% were equally effective to control orofacial pain in FM individuals. Key words:Facial pain, myalgia, rheumatic disease, local anesthesia, phototherapy.