The effect of low level laser therapy (LLLT) on wound healing in horses.

The research article examines the impact of low level laser therapy on wound healing in horses and concludes that this therapy shows no significant effect on the healing process of surgically induced skin wounds.

Research Context and Methodology

In this study, researchers used low level galium aluminium arsenide (GaAlAs) lasers to treat full thickness skin wounds of certain size (3cm x 3cm). These wounds were artificially made on the dorsal aspect of the metacarpophalangeal joints of six crossbred horses. This was a randomised, controlled, and blind study. This means:

• The selection of horses or their wounds to be treated by laser was random, which helped to eliminate bias.
• The experiment was ‘controlled’ in a way that one group underwent low level laser therapy on one leg, while the other leg served as a non-treated control group.
• The experiment was ‘blind’, suggesting that the individuals applying the treatment or assessing the outcomes didn’t know which was the treated leg and which was the control.

Treatment and Post-treatment Care

The dose for laser therapy was fixed at 2 J/cm2. The treatment was performed daily. Simultaneously, the researchers made certain that there were no complications related to the wounds. For example, they kept close check on potential infections. They cleaned all the wounds daily using tap water.

Assessment and Findings

Wound healing involves two major biological processes: contraction (the wound getting smaller) and epithelialisation (growth of new tissue over the wound). Observing these two aspects of wound healing, researchers used a specialized technique called photoplanimetry to evaluate the wounds after administration of the laser therapy. The results showed no significant differences in the process of contraction or epithelialisation between the laser treated wounds and the control wounds.

Conclusion

The core finding of the study is that there is no clinically significant effect of low level laser therapy on second intention wound healing in horses. Thus, although laser therapy has been popular in many countries for wound treatment, this study does not support its effectiveness in accelerating wound healing, at least in the context of the specific kind of wounds induced on horses. The findings suggest that more research should be done to investigate the conditions under which laser therapy may be effective.