What is Laser Therapy?
The technology utilizes superluminous and laser diodes to irradiate diseased or traumatized tissue with photons.These energies are selectively absorbed by the cell membrane and intracellular molecules, resulting in the initiation of a cascade of complex physiological reactions, leading to the restoration of normal cell structure and function.
The process is curative and therefore results in the elimination of symptoms including pain. In addition, it enhances the body’s immune system response and facilitates natural healing.
Laser therapy is completely safe and has no adverse effects, it is highly effective in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, arthritis, sports injuries, wound healing and a wide range of dermatological conditions.
Laser therapy for chronic pain in the leg
Dr. Luis said:" One of my patients had 70 years of chronic pain in his leg. He has a contracture in the back of his knee that doesn’t allow him to straighten his leg completely. He walks with a cane. And he lives every day in chronic pain. He was a guy in the area had heard a little bit about laser therapy and decided why not I’m 88 years old, I’ve got a lot of good years left ahead of me, I’m going to give it a try. He came in, he’s now had about 10 or 11 treatments. His leg can straighten out completely. He no longer needs his cane to walk. And he’s living in about 75% reduced pain than anything he had before. And again, this is after 70 years of having pain in his knee."
How long does a treatment take?
Treatments can last between 15 minutes to 30 minutes, we suggested the practitioners treat once per day, depending on the condition and area being treated.
Laser therapy for chronic pain management
Dr. Terrance Baker MD said: “ Laser therapy is a very important part of chronic pain management. Chronic pain in the past has had only surgical interventions, which are often permanently damaging to the individual. That is, to get rid of pain surgically, you often have to remove something or cut something, permanently. Or inject some sort of material into the area hoping that the cure will be permanent, but often it's not. Or you have painkillers like Morphine and OxyContin, and Oxycodone and all sorts of pills by mouth that assist in the management of the pain. So in the past, that’s all we’ve had. Laser and more specifically phototherapy, or photo-modulation therapy is probably the single most important therapy that is available to patients with chronic pain, because patients with chronic pain can either be improved and/or cured using phototherapy, or photo-modulation therapy.”
What Are The Clinical Benefits Of Laser Therapy?
- Highly effective for many disease conditions
- Cures the pathology, therefore, pain and other symptoms disappear
- Reduces the need for pharmaceuticals and frequently surgical intervention
- Easily applied
- Restores normal range of motion and physical function
- Non-invasive
- Non-toxic
- No known adverse effects
- No drug interactions except photo-sensitizers
- Often makes surgical intervention unnecessary
- Often provides a treatment alternative for patients that have not responded to conventional therapies
- This latter is extremely important
How to educate the patient to accept the laser therapy?
The Clinical Director, Dr. Slave Kim said: “The first and very important element interacting with patients, is patient’s education. And during our first session, this is when we thoroughly examine our patients. This is when we establish the diagnosis. We tell in a kind of a brief version as much as we can about the laser therapy of photo-stimulation. I usually use this analogy cause everyone is familiar these days with photosynthesis. When green plants, trees, they absorb the energy of the sunshine, this is the energy that will be transforming those plants. This is the energy that will be promoting regeneration and growth, etc. So the human body has the ability to absorb the light and respond to that stimulation. We do have, not the chlorophyll, but it’s called Cytochrome-C and every cell would have this ATP production taking place and this is what would be boosting the healing properties of the body. Technically, by simplifying this complex science and delivering this message and explaining to our patients what exactly laser therapy will be doing. How this photo energy will be transforming into biochemical energy, it helps to understand and to receive and accept this therapy. It is a very important therapeutic factor, patient’s education. So that healthcare practitioners and patients will be on the same page. “
How many treatments are needed?
The number of treatments will vary with regarding the individual problem as every patient and condition responds to Laser Therapy uniquely. This may be related to the individual genetic makeup.
Patients will often feel a positive response in the first 3 - 4 treatments. In a recent clinical report on over 1,000 patients treated with the Domer Laser Therapy Instrument, patients averaged slightly less than 10 treatments to resolve their condition. In some patients, 1 treatment is sufficient, however, on average, 3 - 25 treatments are required. In some cases, additional maintenance treatment may be recommended.
Laser Therapy is an Integral Part of My Practice
Dr. Randy Merrick said: “Laser therapy is an integral part of my practice now. There’s almost nothing I do in family medicine that can’t be treated with laser therapy. I have to stick to the protocols, what we call 'the standard of care', if you will in treating different conditions in family medicine. But every year there is more and more family medicine, of what I do that is going to impact how I treat conditions that used to be treated only with medication or surgical intervention. Us allopaths are famous for “if you can’t throw a pill at it or cut on it, it’s not worth doing.” Now I have a modality of healing that I can avoid medications that in certain instances that actually cause harm to other systems when you are trying to shoot at the one you’re trying to heal. Surgical intervention in certain areas is fraught with peril especially spine surgeries. Even where the surgical application is important such as replacing knee and hip joints. We can speed through that transitional healing phase dramatical fast. If we pre-treat as well as post-treat these surgical patients we can avoid a lot of chronic pain scenarios that result from slow healing. The power of the laser is, I predict, going to be within 20 years, in al pre-surgical suites, and all post-operative recovery rooms. All these sites will be treated before and after surgery and you’ll see the complication of infections drop dramatically. You’ ll see the healing times drop dramatically, the rehab times and rehab facilities after knee and hip replacements drop dramatically. We’re on the cusp of a huge breakthrough in the medical world.”
What are the Conditions Treated by Laser Therapy?
Most Frequently Treated Conditions
- Back Problems
- Degenerative Osteoarthritis
- Spinal Stenosis / Sciatica
- Disc Herniation / Degenerative Disc Disease
- Myofascitis
Soft Tissue & Sports Injuries
- Ligament / tendon / muscle tears
- Knee dysfunction ( Meniscal / Ligamentous tears)
- Fractures
Inflammatory Conditions
- Tendonitis ( Supraspinatus/Achilles etc.)
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
Repetitive Stress Injuries
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Rotator Cuff Injuries
- Epicondylitis
Neurological Conditions
- Neuropathies
- Reflex Sympathetic
- Dystrophy
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Concussion
- Dementia (experimental)
Dermatological Conditions
- Eczema / Dermatitis
- Psoriasis
- Herpes ( Post-herpetic Neuralgia)
- Burns
- Acne
Wounds and dermal ulcers secondary to
- Compression / trauma
- Atherosclerosis
- Venous Stasis
- Lymphedema
Other Conditions Treatment
- Temporomandibular
- Joint Dysfunction
- Gout
- Fibromyalgia
Dr. Luke said: “When we first started early on, a lady, I think she’s in her 50s but hurt her shoulder quite early on when she was in her 20s. Basically, she had a frozen shoulder for several years. Just after 3 to 4 treatments, she had almost a full range of motion. Her pain level went from probably an 8 down to a 2 or 3. We had quite a dramatic improvement with her just within a few treatments.”
What is the cost of the laser therapy instrument?
1000mW laser therapy instrument for clinic use
660mW Handy laser therapy device for personal or practitioner
