How Cold Laser Therapy Helps in Relieving Body Pain?
Cold laser therapy is a non-invasive procedure using low-intensity therapy, i.e., it encourages healing using low-intensity light.
This technique is named as such because these low levels of light aren’t strong enough to provide heat to body tissues. This level of light is not suitable to destroy tumours and coagulate tissue. For such activities, a high level of light is required. Researchers believe that cold laser therapy is used to ease pain and improve blood flow.
In the early 1980s, cold lasers were used in medicine as a diagnostic tool; today, they’re recognized as a safe and effective treatment for many conditions.
Cold laser therapy is also known by other names as low-level laser therapy, soft laser biostimulation, low-power laser therapy, and photobiomodulation.
How Does Cold Laser Therapy Work?
Cold laser therapy makes use of photons that work at different wavelengths and are applied directly to the targeted area. This light is later absorbed by the body’s tissues causing the red and near-infrared light to cause some chemical changes in the body that stimulates damaged cells to recover.
For the whole procedure, the physiotherapist uses a handheld device and places it above the damaged tissue for about a minute. The whole procedure lasts for about 30 minutes.
Wavelengths of different nanometers are used for different levels of damage.
For example, superficial tissue wavelengths between 600 and 700 nanometers are used, and for deeper penetration wavelengths between 780 and 950 nm are used.
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Pain Relief Through Cold Laser Therapy
Treating Knee Pain
The knees in the human body are the largest joint and play a vital role in flexibility, balance, and holding our body weight. This situation is, even more, worse in athletes where running and jumping can put more strain on body parts.
Treating Inflammation
Cold laser treatment is used by dentists to treat inflammatory tissues caused by rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic autoimmune diseases and to heal ulcerations.
Treating Lacerations And Contusions
Contusions are bleeding into the skin without a cut whereas lacerations are skin wounds. Cold laser therapy can accelerate the healing of lacerations and contusions.
Treating Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis causes inflammation or severe pain in the heels. It occurs when inflammation occurs on the connective tissues of the foot and gets worse when sitting or standing. Some individuals also feel severe pain when they try to sit comfortably or want to sleep.
Cold laser therapy helps in reducing inflammation by stimulating healing and works best when combined with other therapies such as radial shockwave and orthotic therapy
Treating Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction
The temporomandibular joint connects the jawbone to the skull. TMJ dysfunction causes pain in the jaw joint and in the muscles that control jaw movement. Poor habits like grinding teeth while sleeping causes pain. For this reason, regular chewing and speaking also cause dysfunction. This condition often causes severe pain and restricts you from opening your mouth cold laser therapy causes a speedy healing process which is a great relief.
Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The temporomandibular joint connects the jawbone to the skull. TMJ dysfunction causes pain in the jaw joint and in the muscles that control jaw movement. Poor habits like grinding teeth while sleeping causes pain. For this reason, regular chewing and speaking also cause dysfunction. This condition often causes severe pain and restricts you from opening your mouth cold laser therapy causes a speedy healing process which is a great relief.
Treating Fibromyalgia
Many Canadians suffer from a chronic condition named fibromyalgia that causes pain in muscles and other connective tissue. Cold laser therapy because of its low light condition has the advantage that it can be applied almost anywhere on the body tissues so wherever symptoms of fibromyalgia are spotted they can be addressed easily with this treatment.
Cold Laser Therapy For Neck Pain
Neck pain is an incredibly common issue. As our neck holds the weight of the head and is prone to muscle strain and vertebral joint restrictions. In that case, for reducing inflammation cold laser therapy is combined with traditional manual chiropractic to reduce both short and long-term neck pain.
Is Cold Laser Therapy Effective For You?
Nowadays, the use of cold laser therapy treatment is on the rise and it is also considered safe by doctors when performed by a qualified practitioner. On the other hand, it’s a non-invasive and painless technique. It doesn’t require the use of medications. So for most individuals, it is considered an effective solution.
Who And Where Should Cold Laser Therapy Be Avoided?
Cold laser treatment should not be used on Carcinoma cells or cancerous lesions Over the thyroid Pregnant women should also avoid laser treatment as the radiation may damage the baby inside their womb. Avoid any direct use near the eyes as it can cause permanent damage to the eyes
Can We Try Cold Laser Therapy At Home?
Cold laser therapy treatment can be used at home. Here are a few things that need to be kept in mind while purchasing a device:
1- The output for cold laser therapy varies, some devices may not show the output as they claim.
2- Cold laser therapy can vary in its output as some devices may not have the output which they show.
3- It is necessary to check if the company and the product are genuine or not.
Do your research about the effectiveness and safety of laser treatment and limelight your specific problems while doing any purchase. Some products can make false claims that they can treat your specific problem while they don’t.
So for this consult with your doctor, physical therapist, or another medical professional to find out what will work best for you.
