Comparison of the therapeutic efficacy of magneto-LED therapy and magnetostimulation applied as the adjuvant treatment of venous leg ulcers – preliminary study

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Venous leg ulcers are chronic wounds that are difficult to cure. The aim of the study was to compare the therapeutic efficacy of two methods of physical medicine – magneto-LED therapy and magnetostimulation, applied as adjuvant treatment in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.

Methods

The study included 81 patients, 37 male (45.6%) and 44 female (54.3%) ones, age range between 45 and 90 years, with venous leg ulcers. The patients were assigned to two study groups: magneto-LED therapy (group 1) or magnetostimulation (group 2). In both groups, a total of 40 daily procedures were performed. Wound healing was evaluated using computerized planimetry and the pain intensity on numeric rating scale.

Results

After treatment, the decrease in healing rate in group 1 was statistically significantly higher in comparison to group 2 (p < 0.001), while a statistically significant reduction in the surface area of ulcers was obtained, amounting on the average from 6.34 ± 1.29 cm² to 2.31 ± 1.25 cm² in group 1 (p < 0.001), and from 6.52 ± 1.20 cm² to 4.79 ± 1.17 cm² in group 2 (p < 0.001). The percentage changes of ulcers area in group 1 (64.21 ± 17.94%) were statistically significantly greater as compared to group 2 (25.87 ± 14.07%) (p < 0.001). After treatment, the decrease in pain relief in group 1 was statistically significantly higher in comparison to group 2 (p = 0.006), while pain intensity after treatment decreased statistically significantly in both compared groups of patients (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Magneto-LED therapy and magnetostimulation caused significant reduction of surface area of the treated venous leg ulcers and pain intensity, yet magneto-LED therapy was more efficient. Both evaluated methods also significantly reduced pain intensity.

Plain Language Summary

Chronic wounds are wounds, which despite ongoing treatment, do not heal within 6–8 weeks. A wound that occurs as a result of an ongoing disease process is called an ulcer. Leg ulcers are still a significant challenge for modern medicine because they are characterized by complex etiology, chronic pain and require specific diagnostic and therapeutic measures. In many cases, the inability to heal ulcers quickly is associated with social isolation, long-term suffering and deterioration of the quality of life of treated patients. In addition to standard treatment including surgery, pharmacotherapy and compression therapy, new more effective methods of ulcer therapy are still being sought. Nowadays, physical treatment methods are increasingly used as a supporting treatment the healing of chronic wounds. In the study, variable magnetic fields and low-energy light were used in the treatment of 81 patients (including 44 women and 37 men) in aged 45–90 years. All patients had chronic, non-healing of venous leg ulcers accompanied by severe pain. After completion of treatment, both groups of patients experienced a significant reduction of surface area of treated ulcers and a reduction in the intensity of pain ailments. According to our study results, the use of magnetic field and light therapy can be an important supportive treatment option in patients with venous leg ulcers.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical therapies
• venous leg ulcers
• planimetry
• Magneto-LED therapy
• magnetostimulation
• wound healing
• pain intensity

List of abbreviations

ADM	=	acellular dermal matrix
BMI	=	body mass index
EMT	=	electromagnetic therapy
LED	=	Light Emitting Diodes
MDI	=	Multidisciplinary Team
PEMF	=	pulsed electromagnetic fields
RCT	=	randomized controlled trial
STSG	=	split thickness skin graft
VLU	=	venous leg ulcer
WFH	=	Wound Healing Foundation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors contributions

JP – study design, data collection, data interpretation, manuscript preparation, literature search; SSz – data collection, statistical analysis; GC – data interpretation

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.