Evaluation of low-level laser therapy in the treatment of masticatory muscles spasticity in children with cerebral palsy

Maria Teresa Botti Rodrigues Santos D.D.S.; Michelle Baffi Diniz; Sheila Cynthia Gouw-Soares; Rodrigo Alvaro Brandão Lopes-Martins; Lucio Frigo; Fernando Martins Baeder

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.21.2.028001

16 February 2016 Evaluation of low-level laser therapy in the treatment of masticatory muscles spasticity in children with cerebral palsy

Maria Teresa Botti Rodrigues Santos D.D.S., Michelle Baffi Diniz, Sheila Cynthia Gouw-Soares, Rodrigo Alvaro Brandão Lopes-Martins, Lucio Frigo, Fernando Martins Baeder

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Funded by: São Paulo Research Foundation

Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 21, Issue 2, 028001 (February 2016). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.21.2.028001

Abstract

Spasticity is a motor disorder frequently present in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the spasticity of the masseter and anterior temporal muscle fibers in children with CP over three weeks of intermittent laser exposures. The bite force (BF) of the masticatory muscles and the amplitude of mouth opening were evaluated before and after laser irradiation in 30 children with CP. Both sides of the masseter and temporalis muscles were irradiated with low-intensity diode laser pulses of 808-nm wavelength six times over three consecutive weeks. During the subsequent three weeks of postlaser exposures, although no laser treatment was applied, the evaluation parameters were measured and recorded. A significant improvement in the amplitude of mouth opening and a decrease in the BF were observed in the weeks following LLLT (P<0.05). However, by the sixth week post-LLLT, the BF and the amplitude of mouth opening reverted to values equivalent to those obtained before the first application of LLLT. Our investigation revealed low-level energy exposures from a 808-nm diode laser to be an effective short-term therapeutic tool. This method increased the amplitude of mouth opening and decreased the muscle tonus of children with spastic CP over a time course of three weeks of intermittent laser applications.

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Maria Teresa Botti Rodrigues Santos D.D.S., Michelle Baffi Diniz, Sheila Cynthia Gouw-Soares, Rodrigo Alvaro Brandão Lopes-Martins, Lucio Frigo, and Fernando Martins Baeder "Evaluation of low-level laser therapy in the treatment of masticatory muscles spasticity in children with cerebral palsy," Journal of Biomedical Optics 21(2), 028001 (16 February 2016). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.21.2.028001

Published: 16 February 2016

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