Background and objective: This case report describes the long-term effect of the high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) in a patient with chronic shoulder pain refractory in comparison to other treatments.
Case description: Ten sessions of HILT were applied in a thirty-one-year-old woman diagnosed with subacromial syndrome. Assessment was carried out through different tests: Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and pressure pain threshold (PPT). All measurements were taken at four different points: at the end of the 10 sessions, after one month, three months after the intervention and nine months after the initial intervention.
Results: There was a clinically significant improvement in NPRS (decrease of 5 points), PPT (increase of 1.5 kg/cm2) and SPADI (decrease of 24 points) one month after the intervention. After three months, the increase of NPRS and SPADI required a 5-session intervention to support the clinical improvement. Six months after these booster sessions an increase in PPT and a decrease in NPRS and SPADI were observed.
Conclusion: Results indicate the suitability of developing new research lines which will optimize the use of HILT.
Keywords: Shoulder pain; high intensity laser therapy; high power laser therapy; shoulder impingement syndrome.