If you have muscle or joint pain and have been wondering whether laser therapy (LT) might be a solution, you need to know the basic facts about this highly effective treatment method used by chiropractors and many other health care providers all over the world. Note that only a trained individual can administer LT, so it’s important to make sure you get treatment from someone who has training in the technique.
Another essential point is that laser therapy is completely different from “laser surgery,” an often risky, invasive type of general surgery that uses the beams of light for another purpose and in another way. When we say “laser therapy,” we’re talking about the use of low-level laser light applied directly to the outside of the human body (on the knee, for example) in order to bring relief from pain and reduce swelling.
Chiropractors who use laser therapy are careful to adjust the strength of the device to suit the particular part of the body being treated. This kind of calibration is an important part of the process and calls for a trained chiropractic physician who has experience with the therapy. Studies have shown that when the right amount of laser light is applied to a joint or other area, the results are more beneficial in terms of reduction of swelling and localized pain.
How Does the Therapy Work?
In its simplest form, LT refers to the aiming of light beams right onto your skin. Because the device emits very low levels of light energy (also called photons, or particles of light) to do the work. Each of these photons travels through the skin and goes deep into the area underneath. Sometimes that might be a sore joint or painful area of muscle tissue.
So-called “cold” lasers (not the ones used in invasive surgery) are often used to relieve pain in joints. On just about any part of the body where a person feels pain, laser therapy can help not only cut down on the discomfort but to reduce swelling.
The best part of the treatment is that photos have a unique way of causing various chemical changes within soft tissue and bone that result in faster than normal healing and regrowth of damaged areas. There’s no heat or discomfort associated with this kind of laser device, which is why it’s often called a “cold laser.” Sometimes, the chiropractor administering the laser therapy will not even touch your body with the device. On other occasions, the doctor might simply place the top of the device directly onto your skin.
Either way, there’s no pain, discomfort, or heat during the process, only healing beams of photos being directed at the joints and muscle tissues underneath the skin. For instance, if you suffer from knee pain, the doctor will likely place the laser unit on or near your knee. For about one minute or less, your body will receive very rapid pulses of laser light. Depending on your particular level of pain or injury, it might take several LT treatment sessions to bring long-lasting relief.
What is LT Used For?
Laser therapy is about much more than pain relief. Of course, people tend to remember a treatment methods that relieves their pain, but the other things LT is used for often get lost in the discussion. That’s because many of the results of the therapy are invisible or take a few sessions to appear. They include:
- Faster Healing of Wounds: Everyone has a different way of responding to damaged tissue. Some people’s bodies heal rapidly. Others take much more time to heal. One of the most common reasons for using LT is to speed up the natural healing process of the body. When light photons come in contact with damaged tissue, the human body responds by delivering a variety of chemicals to the point of damage and causing the process to move much more rapidly.
- Pain: For mild to severe joint and muscle pain, chiropractors often use LT to bring deep-down, long-lasting relief. The laser light has a way of using the body’s own healing chemicals and processes to alleviate the sensation of pain after several treatment sessions.
- Enhanced Blood Circulation: The signature of damaged tissue often includes poor blood circulation. Laser light can instantly improve circulation and is especially effective at doing so after repeated application over a period of several weeks. For patients in chiropractic clinics, that means making a few visits spread out over a month or so.
- Regrowth of Tissues: Laser light application helps tissue grow faster. In addition to boosting the blood flow and reducing pain, the light has a unique way of helping tissues grow back after being damaged. This is particularly true in cases where muscle tissue around joints has been damaged in an accident.
There are literally dozens of different uses for LT, especially when you’re under the care of a licensed chiropractic physician who has experience with the technique. One reason for the versatility and wide-ranging application of LT is that it’s safe and effective. What are the main benefits of laser therapy for patients who suffer from muscle soreness, joint pain, impaired mobility due to muscle stiffness, and other conditions? Here’s a short list that includes the most common reasons people seek out LT from their chiropractors.
- Non-Invasive LT is totally non-invasive. There’s no cutting, discomfort, or any kind of penetration of the skin.
- Much Less Costly Than Invasive Surgery Compared to traditional surgery for the same symptoms, laser therapy is much less costly, and not just by a few percent, but by vast amounts.
- Painless Unlike many invasive surgeries and therapies, laser therapy is painless. Patients experience no discomfort, pain, or heat.
- Immune System Enhancement: Laser light has many unique properties. One is that it actually helps the body’s immune system become more robust.
- Reduction of Localized Swelling: Reduction of swelling and alleviation of localized pain are two of the most common reasons people seek LT, even though it does much more.
- It Uses No Drugs: There are, of course, no drugs of any kind used with LT. In addition to being completely non-invasive and painless, the process employs nothing more than rays of light, so there’s never any kind of drugs involved in treatment.
- Causes a Natural Form of Pain Relief: Laser light enhances the body’s natural pain-relief mechanisms, notably the release of endorphins, a brain chemical the effectively, safely, and naturally fights pain.
Getting Started With Laser Therapy
If you are suffering with joint or muscle pain and think laser therapy might be the right choice for treatment, take the time to visit Delaware Integrative Healthcare and find out what your options are. Our chiropractors are fully trained in all forms of laser therapy, for minor and major conditions. It’s essential to not only get the right kind of therapy but to put yourself into the hands of a chiropractic physician who can do a full exam and let you know exactly what your situation is.
It’s never a good idea to jump into a particular type of treatment, especially when there are so many options available with chiropractic medicine. But, if you do need laser therapy for aching, injured muscle tissue or joints, we’ll be glad to help. Feel free to phone our office or visit our website for more detailed information about our practice, our several locations, and our team. If you wish to make an appointment right now, simply call us at (302)-376-5830 and we’ll be happy to schedule you in as soon as possible for an exam.
