Lasers are all around us today. They can be found in supermarket scanners and compact disc players. They can measure the distance from the Earth to the moon within a millimeter and repair your vision with just one treatment. They can cut steel, produce three-dimensional images and transmit telephone messages around the world. Lasers were first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1917 and invented in 1960. Lasers are the solutions to many of todays hight tech problems. More people are also learning that lasers may be the solution to there health problems. Lasers are being used by health care providers nationwide and increasing in popularity and use. More and more people are probably wondering about lasers and have questions.

Laser therapy is the application of low levels of laser light in and around the 830 nm wave length, such as the Micro Light Laser we use in our office. LLLT is a type of light treatment. This low level light is applied to areas of the body that have been injured. These differ from the high powered lasers many people are used to hearing about. High-powered lasers used in health care cut tissue, such as surgical or hair-removal lasers. Low level or therapy lasers produce beneficial photochemical and photo-biological interactions that can help relieve pain, reduce inflammation, reduce edema and repair injured tissue.

The use of light as a healing modality dates back 4,000 years, and was used by the ancient Egyptians. Albert Einstein theorized about lasers in the early 1900ś, and the laser was invented in 1960. Laser light is monochromatic, one color, coherent, all waves travel in phase, and can be collimated, reduced to one small spot. It is these unique properties that allow the laser at 830nm to penetrate up to 5cm bellow th surface of the skin, helping to repair muscle and tissue damage. This damage could not be directly treated before.

Therapy lasers have been used in Europe since 1967 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave market clearance to the first therapy laser in 2002. Since then, progressive chiropractors, osteopaths, medical doctors and other have been offering laser therapy to their patients in increasing numbers. We acquired our first laser in 2005 and it has been part of our regular treatment protocol since.

The photons of laser light penetrate up to 5cm below your skin where they are absorbed by special components in your body’s cells called chromophores. The absorption of the photons by your cells causes increased production of cellular energy, similar to photosynthesis in plant. This increases the energy available to the cell and improves the rate and quality of healing. This is refered to as biostimulation. This allowes cells to function at a higher energy level improving not only healing but all cellular functions. Studies on tissue cultures reveal a wide range of beneficial physiological effects, including increased levels of endorphins, prostaglandins and other beneficial components. Reduced levels of harmful compounds including C-reactive protein and interleukin-1 affect pain modulation through a variety of mechanisms and increased rate and quality of tissue healing.

What does this means for you is relief from acute and chronic pain, reduced inflammation and muscle spasms, improved range of motion and restored function. It also leads to reduced healing time and even relief from chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia. Patients suffering from headaches, neck pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, low back pain, sports injuries, post-surgical pain and more have been helped with laser therapy.

Some patients will notice improvement after the very first treatment while others will take a few treatments. The effect of laser therapy is cumulative, meaning that each successive treatment builds on previous ones. The main benefit to patients, as reported by chiropractors across the country, is that care plans that include laser therapy produce faster and better quality results.

With very low-powered therapy lasers, you feel nothing at all. You may notice a tingling sensation in the treatment area as blood vessels dilate, or that muscle spasms are reducing in strength and duration. Laser therapy is a painless healing treatment.

There are two ways that laser light can damage tissue; if it is very concentrated (high power density) or if the photons are very high energy. Therapy lasers use power densities that are far below the levels that cause tissue damage. Ultraviolet light has very high-energy photons capable of ionizing molecules, but therapy lasers use visible and near-infrared light, which only cause molecular vibrations. You could argue that therapy laser light is safer than sunlight.

Some patients may experience soreness in the area of treatment, as toxins are released and blood flow is restored. World experts on laser therapy have commented that therapeutic lasers have no undesirable side effects in the hands of a reasonably qualified therapist. Laser therapy is safe, painless and inexpensive compared to alternatives.

If you are ready to find out more contact a chiropractor. We are glad to answer all of your questions at Mahler Family Chiropractic Center so call us today.