Laser therapy for pain

How to choose the right Cold Laser Therapy Device?

If you want to know “how to choose the right Cold Laser Therapy Device?”, you must already know “ what is the cold laser therapy?”, “what is the advantage of cold laser therapy?” As we know, there are many different forms of Cold Laser Therapy Device in the market. In fact, some forms are not even lasers. Some Cold Laser Therapy Device uses non-coherent forms of light derived from LED, or light-emitting diodes, remember not all LEDs are lasers. We concluded the main 4 specs of laser therapy machine you should consider as below.

The main 4 specs should consider are:

  • Wavelength(measured in nanometers [nm])
  • Class level (measured in milliwatts [mW] for class 3b and watts [W] for class 4 systems)
  • Pulsing Options (some systems are continuous wave [CW] only, some are pulsing only, some are both)
  • Laser Therapy Protocols 
  • Power
  • Price

These variables control the quality of laser therapy (measured in Joules for power and Hz for pulsing) administered to the treatment area.

Low-Level Laser Wavelength

Wavelength is measured in nanometers (nm). The wavelengths used in rehabilitation are in the 620 – 1000 nm range. Wavelength is one of the key factors that dictate the depth of penetration.

650nm 808nm laser

(The penetration depth for the same power of 850nm and 670nm laser)  

620-660nm

620-660nm is the shorter wavelengths of low level laser, the power level is ≤5mW, the depth of penetration of 620-695nm wavelength low level laser is up to 1 centimeter, especially the 650nm has been found to be effective in the treatment of superficial target tissues such as skin wounds, lymphatic issue, with acupoint therapy to hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperviscosity, rhinitis, and some other disease caused by ischemic cardiac-cerebral vascular diseases. Because much of the shorter wavelength energy can be absorbed by the blood which flows throughout the body, accelerate the blood circulation, improve the metabolism in the irradiated area.

808nm-850nm

808-850nm is the longer wavelengths low level laser, the power level commonly is high power ≥180mW, the depth of penetration is up to 5cm, especially the 808nm wavelengths are best suited to treat deeper target tissue, tendons, and ligaments. Because it produces the maximum interaction with mitochondria, speed up the metabolism of various tissue repair cells and mature, to accelerate the production of collagen fibers, deposition and cross-linking.

900nm -1000nm

900nm -1000nm is high power class 4 laser, the power is > 1W, 905nm and 980nm wavelength laser are very popular being the standard for many class 4 systems, much more of the energy can be absorbed by patients when compare with class 3b low level laser, the patients can recover faster, shorten the treatment time, what's more, the class 4 980nm laser has the excellent result for musculoskeletal disorder and neuropathic pain. 

Class Level

LASER CLASSIFICATION TABLE

Laser Class Level

  • Class 1 & 2& 3A lasers are very low power laser, it doesn’t have the effect of any treatment, Just don't waste your time buying anything that looks like a laser pointer. 
  • Class 3B laser is the Class 3 lasers are designed for practitioners but can be purchased for use on humans at home with the recommendation of a healthcare provider. They can be purchased without any restrictions for use on pets and horses. Class 3 lasers must be less than 500mW per laser diode continuous output(for example, 650nm, 808nm). Class 3b device have less chance of eye damage and no chance of tissue heating damage.
  • Class 4 laser is any laser that has one or more laser beams with an output of 500mW or more( for example, 905nm, 980nm). Class 4 lasers between 1 / 2 watt and 60 watts can do damage to the eye or to tissue if improperly used. This danger is easily eliminated with training. Class 4 lasers only the professional institution can use it, for example, clinic, hospital, the practitioners should have the laser therapist certification and be trained by the company.

Pulsing Options

“Pulsing” is a familiar concept in therapeutic modalities. Both therapeutic ultrasound and short wave diathermy have pulsed mode options. Regarding the laser therapeutic, In the literature there are many examples showing that different pulse frequencies give different biological effects, It has been theorized that acute injuries should be treated with low pulse frequencies(<100 Hz), subacute injuries with higher pulse frequencies, and chronic conditions should be treated with continuous mode.

Some low level laser therapy machine is continuous wave [CW] only, some are pulsing only, some are both. For example, our 660mW Handy Laser Therapy Device is the pulsing and continuous mode, while our 1000mW Laser Therapy Machine is the only continuous mode, so when you choose the laser therapeutic device, it depends on will you want to get the better result for the chronic conditions or the acute injuries, subacute injuries. 

Laser Therapy Protocols

When you get the laser therapy device, you just want to know what is the best method to help the patient, we called it as the laser therapy protocols. The key to the laser therapy protocols is the irradiation acupoints, time and power setting, treatment times. Some laser device, like Thor Laser they supply the laser therapy protocols, but their laser machine is more than $5,000 dollars, we supply the laser therapy protocols which combine laser therapy with acupuncture point, it was concluded through thousands of clinic trails. Lasers concentrate all their power in a small point, which makes them ideal for laser acupuncture, we suggest the clients use the laser beams on the acupoint, in this way,  laser light tends to penetrate easily to the meridians and travel along them, for energy-moving effects in the meridians, even at a distance from the point being treated, so the energy of laser can be absorbed by the body easily, and help the patient recover sooner.

The acupunct Electrother Res published the clinical literature on PubMed, they said  “Laser treatment on acupuncture points can improve pain and wrist functionality in patients under going rehabilitation therapy after wrist bone fracture. The patients treated with laser beam exposure on acupuncture points showed 44% reduction in pain and 33% of improvement in the functional status of the wrist compared with the only laser stimulation”

Power

Many practitioners asked me” does the high power laser therapy device get the result sooner? Will it have the better result? Does class 4 laser get the better result than class 3B?” I often explain for them, please image the laser therapy as have the breakfast, if you eat too much, there is no benefit, and you will feel bloated, eat less, you will feel hungry, only the right amount is the best, for laser therapy, we call the suitable Energy (Joules), the Energy (Joules) Energy is the power multiplied by the treatment time. It is measured in Joules (J)

1 Watt = 1 Joule/second

Energy = power x treatment time (sec)

Joules (J) = Watts x Sec

Example: you are using our 660mW handheld cold laser therapy device and you treat for 1 min (60 sec). what is the total energy (J) delivered)?

Answer : 660mW=0.66W, Joules(J): 0.66Wx60=39.6J

In a sense, when you use the higher power laser therapy device, it can decrease your treatment time, Conversely, when you use lower powered laser devices it will take longer to deliver a given amount of energy to the patient.

The other variable is what we call the “ dosing”, It represents the actual amount of energy delivered to each cm2 of the treatment area. 

Energy Density = (Power output x treatment time) ÷ beam area (spot size) J/cm2 = ( W x sec ) ÷ cm2

GENERAL TREATMENT PROTOCOLS AT A GLANCE

Gallo JA, Wijting Y. Low Level Laser Therapy: Clinical Mentoring Series. Gulf Breeze:FL: CIAO Publishing;2006.

Note: As we said before, use wavelengths in the visible range (600-700 nm) for superficial lesions, in the infrared range (700-1000 nm) for deeper lesions.

Price

As more and more practitioners, patients know the benefit of low level laser therapy(LLLT), the number of LLLT pain relief devices available on the market has grown. After you know of the Wavelength, Class level, Pulsing Options, Laser Therapy Protocols, Power, the next important factors which determine your choice will be Price.

We take much time to make the comparison table of the LLLT device on the market, for your reference as below:

Brand Name

Image

Specification

Warranty 

Unit Price

Thor Laser

 Thor Laser Therapy device

Large healing 69 LED cluster 30mW@660nm
Analgesic laser cluster (5 x 200mW)
Access to the THOR treatment library
2 x Laser safety glasses

N/A

USD $14585 

Domer Laser

 Domer Laser Therapy Device

Eleven 650nm (11x5mW) @Four 808nm (4x180mW) @Professional treatment protocols

1 x Laser safety glasses

1 Year

 USD $980

K-Laser

 K Laser

15W total - 100mW @ 660nm, (power not specified) @800nm, 905nm and 980nm

3 Years

$27,900

Avant LZ30z

 Avant LZ30z Laser Device

1400 mW (1.4 w) @ 808 nm 
Plus 1000 mW (1w) @ 637 nm

3 Years

USD $5,650

Domer Class 4 Laser

 

class 4 laser

 

60W total @ 980nm
Power adjustable 
Frequency adjustable

1 Years

USD $3599

Apollo Portable

 Apollo Laser

500 mW 810nm Continuous Wave Pinpoint Probe

2 Years

USD $4,634

Erchonia

 Laser device

20mW @ 635nm
CW, Pulsed
(RED only)

2 Years

USD $12,000

Conclusion

Low-level laser therapy is an excellent addition to the rehabilitation professional’s therapeutic intervention “toolbox”. When combined with sound examination and treatment skills, LLLT has powerful physiologic effects that can accelerate tissue healing, and modulate pain.

HOT SALE LASER THERAPY DEVICE

High Intensity Laser                   Cold Laser device 

Class IV 980nm 60W Laser          1000mW Laser for Clinic or Home use

 

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