Streszczenie

Laser acupuncture has produced promising results in the management of many medical conditions; it has been used as a non-invasive therapy with no puncture pain which represents a major advantage over traditional acupuncture or electroacupuncture. The research question of this study is: Does the Aluminum Gallium Arsenide (AlGaAs) LASER acupuncture affect the lower limb blood supply and functional walking ability in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD)?. Thirty male patients’ diagnosis with PAD were recruited from Kasr El-ainy Hospital, and were randomly divided into two equal groups: study group and control group. Both groups received the routine medical treatment whereas study group received laser acupuncture therapy twice weekly for five weeks. Ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI), six-minute walk test (6MWT), and rating of perceived exertion using modified Borg scale were measured. The 2×2 mixed design MANOVA showed that laser acupuncture has induced highly statistically significant improvements in all the measured outcomes (p < 0.05). However, results revealed no significant difference between the two groups except for modified Borg scale. It was concluded that, AlGaAs Laser acupuncture could be an effective non-pharmacological intervention for improving circulation and functional walking performance in PAD patients and may be recommended as a complementary therapy in the management protocols of PAD.

Słowa kluczowe:

Laser acupuncture, peripheral arterial disease, Ankle brachial pressure index, six-minute walk test