Low-level Laser Therapy in Chronic Kidney Disease

Overview

Chronic kidney disease is a renal injury and progressive and irreversible loss of kidney function and in its most advanced stage is called chronic renal failure. Although hemodialysis replace some kidney function, patients suffer some alterations characterized by "uremic syndrome" typically expressed by: motor neuropathy and/or autonomic neuropathy, cardiac or musculoskeletal myopathies, peripheral vascular changes, among others. Thus, the functional capacity and ability to exercise presents diminished these patients. The aim of this study is to verify the acute effect of low level laser therapy on the functional capacity of these individuals. The research will be developed in the hemodialysis unit of the Santa Clara hospital of Santa Casa de Misericordia de Porto Alegre and the patients will be evaluated before and immediately after the application of laser therapy protocol. Before the protocol will be evaluated pain in the lower limbs, Borg scale, level of physical activity through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and blood collection will be held for later analysis parameters of biochemical oxidative stress and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage. The laser therapy protocol will be applied in 6 points in quadriceps and 4 points in the gastrocnemius, bilaterally. After application, will be held the 6-minute walk test, effort subjective perception by Borg scale, assessment of pain in the lower limbs with visual analog scale and a new blood sample for further analysis. Patients will be randomized in two groups. The intervention group (IG), which will be held laser therapy and placebo group (PG), where the laser therapy will be placebo mode applied. The application will take place with the Chattanooga device, with the laser diode cluster probe from the same manufacturer consisting of five diodes 850 nanometers (nm) and power output of 200 milliwatts (mW). It is irradiated 6 points in quadriceps and 4 points in gastrocnemius, bilaterally.