Efficacy of pulsed Nd:YAG laser on forearm skin temperature and electrophysiology in normal subjects: a case-control study

• Published in: Journal of thermal analysis and calorimetry Vol. 149; no. 17; pp. 9307 - 9314
• Main Authors: Alayat, Mohamed Salaheldien, Almatrafi, Nahla Ahmad, El-Kafy, Ehab Mohamed Abd, Basuodan, Reem Mohammed, Gari, Halah Yaser
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrophysiology; Forearm; Inorganic Chemistry; Laser applications; Lasers; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Median nerve; Neodymium lasers; Physical Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Semiconductor lasers; Skin temperature; Thermography; YAG lasers; Forearm; Thermographic camera; Thermal effect; Median nerve; Electrophysiology; Healthy subjects; Pulsed Nd:YAG laser
• ISSN: 1388-6150; 1588-2926
• DOI: 10.1007/s10973-024-13486-w

To investigate the effect of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser on the forearm local skin temperature (LST) and electrophysiology in healthy adults. A total of 30 healthy subjects with a mean age of 21 ± 0.74 years, mass of 63 ± 9.97 kg, and height of 163.7 ± 6.24 cm participated in this study. The anterior surface of the left non-dominant forearm was scanned with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser at 20 Jcm −2 for a total of 2000 J in 15 min. The right forearm was considered as the control and was scanned with a placebo laser for the same time as the active laser. Forearm minimal, average, and maximum LST were measured using a thermographic camera. Electrophysiological assessment of the median nerve [distal motor latency (DML), motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), and sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV)] was performed on both forearms before and after the application of the pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Paired and unpaired t tests were used to compare within and between groups, respectively. The level of significance was set at p  > 0.05. There were significant increases in the minimum, average, and maximum LST, as well as the MNCV and SNCV with a significant decrease in DML after laser application compared to the control. The average increase in LST and nerve conduction velocity post-treatment was 275.55 K and 4.8 ms −1 , respectively. The application of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser significantly increased the forearm LST, MNCV, and SNCV and significantly decreased the DML in healthy subjects. The average increase in the LST was 275.55 K with an average increase of 5 ms −1 in the motor and 4 ms −1 in the sensory NCVS.