EFFECTIVENESS OF LASER ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY COMPARED WITH NSAIDS ON PAIN REDUCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of chronic pain and disability, and although NSAIDs are widely used, prolonged therapy may increase the risk of adverse effects. Laser acupuncture has been proposed as a non-invasive option to reduce pain and improve knee-related outcomes. This randomized controlled trial compared laser acupuncture and NSAID therapy in 32 patients with knee OA (Kellgren–Lawrence grade II–III) who were randomized equally to laser acupuncture (n = 16) or NSAIDs (n = 16). The authors assessed pain using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Meanwhile, we evaluated knee function and knee-related quality of life using the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) before and after treatment. We analyzed within-group changes using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and compared between-group differences in change scores ($\Delta $VAS and $\Delta $KOOS) using the Mann–Whitney U test. The laser acupuncture group demonstrated a significant reduction in VAS (median 7 to 4.5, p < 0.05), whereas the NSAID group exhibited a smaller reduction (median 6 to 5, p < 0.05); the pain reduction was significantly greater with laser acupuncture ($\Delta $VAS 2.5 vs 1.0; p = 0.01379). KOOS improved significantly after treatment in both groups, with a larger increase in the laser acupuncture group (1.91 ± 0.38 to 2.66 ± 0.41; p < 0.001). Furthermore, the between-group comparison confirmed significantly greater KOOS improvement with laser acupuncture (p = 0.01379). In conclusion, laser acupuncture was more effective than NSAID therapy in reducing pain, improving knee function, and enhancing knee-related quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis, supporting its role as a safe, non-pharmacological option in OA management.