WHAT IS LASER THERAPY?
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) is the use of therapeutic (or cold) laser light to provide relief from pain, eliminate inflammation (swelling) or to repair damaged tissues. LLLT is entirely non-invasive and has a wide range of applications, from neural muscular skeletal conditions to wound healing to acupuncture treatments. Rather than destroying tissue, as with surgical (or hot) lasers, LLLT uses low intensity laser light energy to stimulate cells through a number of known cellular pathways in order to encourage tissue healing.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
- Laser light is delivered in the therapeutic window by monochromatic laser light in wavelengths ranging from 600 to 950 nm
- Light particles also known as photons penetrate up to 10 cm into tissue
- Photons are absorbed by electrons in photosensitive compounds, known as chromophores and cytochromes residing in the mitochondria increasing the rate of Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP) production. ATP is the basic food source of cells derived from the phosphorylation of glucose in the mitochondria.
- ATP fuels the cells and actuates the healing process – more ATP equals faster healing
BENEFITS OF LASER THERAPY
Efficacy rates up to 90% with no side effects
- Non-toxic
- Decrease/eliminate pain
- Reduce inflammation
- Promote new blood vessels and tissue growth
- Promote nerve axon growth
- Faster wound healing and closure
- Virtually painless
- Non-invasive
- Highly effective for patient (>90% efficacy) No side effects
- Drug free
- Extremely safe
- Easy to apply
- Cost effective for practitioner and patient
- Superior alternative to analgesics, NSAID’s,
other medications and other modalities - Virtually no contraindications
WHAT YOU FEEL AS A PATIENT
While you relax in a comfortable LazyBoy Recliner or rest on our chiropractic bed, you will receive top quality laser care. Your cells will rejuvenate while you relax to the warm comforts of Low Intensity Laser Therapy, complete with a mini-vibration massage and pain reducing spray or essential oils.
TREATED CONDITIONS
Soft Tissue and Sports Injuries
• Ligament/tendon/muscle tears
• Knee dysfunction
• Fractures
Repetitive Stress Injuries
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Rotator Cuff Injuries
• Epicondylitis
Inflammatory Conditions
• Tendonitis
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
Back Problems
• Degenerative Osteoarthritis
• Spinal Stenosis/Sciatica
• Disc Herniation
• Myofascitis
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do therapeutic lasers work?
Therapeutic medical lasers heal tissue ailments by injecting billions of photons of visible and /or invisible laser light deep into tissue structures. Tissue naturally contains protein strands called chromophores and cytochromes located in the mitochrondria of a cell, which have the unique ability to absorb laser light energy and transform it into chemical energy for the cell. This chemical energy is utilized by the tissue to significantly accelerate the healing process and reduce pain in the body naturally.
How does cold laser help in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the joints causing swelling and tissue damage. RA is different than non-inflammatory problems of the joints and often mistaken for Osteoarthritis, which is inflammation caused by wear and tear on the joints.
Cold laser treatment works by reducing the pain and inflammation caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis. The initial treatment schedule can vary dependent upon the severity of the condition and the length of onset, though the average patient will receive 2-3 treatments per week for a duration of 10-25 treatments. Since RA is an autoimmune disorder and is non-curable, in order to maintain quality of life a patient is placed on a maintenance program of one to two treatments per month thereafter to maintain pain reduction, inflammation and increased range of motion.
What is the difference between normal light and laser light?
The major difference between laser light and normal light is the laser beam’s ability to travel long distances without being dispersed. This is known as coherence, and it enables the laser to focus its power within a small circumference. Pulsated laser light has been shown to have a strong therapeutic effect on cells and muscle tissue. A Theralase cold laser, for instance, doesn’t produce heat or cut organic tissue like industrial lasers or surgical lasers. Instead, it pulses a focused or culminated light beam at body tissue (bone, skin, muscle, etc.) which in turn has profound beneficial effects on the functioning of human cells the building blocks of the body.
What is photon dosage?
Photon dosage is defined as the amount of light at tissue depth determined by the amount of light delivered to the tissue surface, affected by both power and time.
Why is photon dosage at tissue depth important?
The attenuation or diminishment of light through tissue follows a 1/e formula significantly reducing the amount of light at tissue depth. To provide better treatment outcomes a practitioner needs to maximize the amount of photon light at the tissue surface by increasing the power of the laser and time of the treatment. The limiting factor with laser is the amount of light that tissue can absorb non-thermally, this is known as the Maximize Permissible Exposure or MPE. To date, a super-pulsed laser, flickering off and on, delivers the most amount of photonic energy without exceeding the MPE.
What scientific documentation is there on Low Level Therapy (LLT)?
There are thousands of published studies that describe the positive effects of laser therapy. These studies range from studies on individual cell types to in vivo double blind control studies. The areas of study range from wound healing to muscular skeletal conditions and have been conducted on different types of laser devices. Medicine is a very good medical database search engine that can provide abstracts and can sell literature. There are also many books on the subject. One very good text is “Low Level Laser Therapy – Clinical Practice and Scientific Background”, written by Jan Turner & Lars Hode.