Cold-Laser Treatment Therapy

by Jim Rodriguez

Cold laser therapy, also known as Photobiomodulation, low level laser therapy (LLLT), and laser biostimulation, is an emerging medical technique in which exposure to low-level laser light can stimulate or inhibit cellular function leading to beneficial clinical effects. Cold Laser is called "cold" because it is administered with less than 1 watt of power, does not emit heat and is safe for most applications. Cold-Laser application is often utilized to treat chronic and acute pain. Other common treatments include, but are not limited to, back and neck pathology, musculoskeletal pain, joint pain associated with arthritis, fibromyalgia, tendonitis, bursitis, neuropathy, migraine headaches, sprains and strains, carpal tunnel and other associated pathologies. Cold-Laser also treats conditions such as TMJ, reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and other inflammatory and scarring conditions.

How does Cold Laser therapy work? Photons, which are particles of electromagnetic energy, are emitted from the low power laser. In theory, these particles enter the tissues and are absorbed in the mitochondria, which are tiny structures within the substance of each individual cell. The energy is converted to chemical energy within the cell. The permeability of the cell membrane changes which, in turn, produces various physiological effects. These physiological changes affect a variety of cell types including macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and mast cells. By stimulating the tissue at the cellular level, ATP production can be increased, oxygenation available to the cell can be greater and the combination results in an increase in lymphatic activity for cellular detoxification. Subsequently, normal afferent and efferent neuronal activity is increased, which compete for and inhibit pain at the central synapse sites.

Kinetic Health Systems, a physical therapy clinic in San Francisco, has used an Erchonia brand laser for approximately three years. During that time, laser applications have been shown to decrease pain, optimize human performance at any level, speed up recovery and healing times, as well as improve and/or restore neurological impairment and function. This has been evidenced by an increase in muscle strength, range of motion and rapid acceleration of wound healing.

The Erchonia laser used at Kinetic Health Systems is set at 634 nanometers, which is comparable to the healthy human tissue wavelength, and is under 1 watt of power, mimicking solar radiation, producing collagen and Vitamin D, and increasing epithelial cell activity and capillary blood vessel formation at the treatment site. There is an increase in serotonin levels, which guides the healing process and decreases pain. Whereby most clinicians use a laser that administers a single frequency at a time, an erchonia laser can emit up to six separate frequencies at the same time, enabling the clinician to address all types of tissues targeted concurrently. If other alternative therapies do not seem to be helping you manage your debilitating condition, perhaps an investigation into using cold laser application for your particular ailment should be considered.

FEEDBACK: CLICK HERE to email comments and feedback. Please note the title of the article or the author's name. Include your own name or type "name withheld" by request. Thoughtful responses will be published in our next edition.