When I began my practice, I made a commitment to bring the latest advances in healthcare available to my patients. Initially, I learned about Cold Laser Therapy from an existing patient. When I went to the seminar a few weeks ago, I was amazed at the research presented regarding this therapy. More importantly, I was impressed with the results that I personally experienced and witnessed in other participants on that weekend alone.
The Erchonia PL5000 Cold Laser is being used by the leading health care practitioners in the world, including Dr. Jeffrey Spencer. Dr. Spencer treats many professional athletes, including Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods. They depend upon his expertise to keep them performing at an exceptional level. I am pleased to report that I have been personally trained by Dr. Spencer on how to properly integrate this therapy into my practice! More importantly, Dr. Spencer has even shared his personal treatment protocols that can be used on any patient!
So what exactly is Cold Laser Therapy? When the body has an injury, the cells are damaged and fail to function within normal parameters. Basically, these cells have their “light switch” turned off; therefore, they don’t even realize they are not operating correctly. Low level lasers from the Cold Laser machine penetrate deeply into the skin and work by restoring this abnormal cellular function. This turns the “light switch” back on so that it can perform normally. Cold Laser uses a non-heat producing light laser, which is locked at a specific wavelength and can penetrate deeply into tissue, which is optimal for treatment .
The biological effects of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) have been shown to significantly accelerate and enhance the body's natural defense and repair abilities when injured. By reducing the duration of inflammation as well as enhancing specific repair and healing process, LLLT has been proven to provide pain relief, reduce damage due to the injury and loss of function. LLLT enables the body to have a more rapid repair and stronger tissues once healed. When working with the US Cycling Team, Dr. Spencer reported that he was able to prevent inflammation from even occurring if it was treated within the first 24 hours of injury.
Physiologic effects include improved metabolism, circulation and tissue healing. Laser therapy may be useful for several conditions, including the following: tendonitis, sprain-strains, scar tissue, chronic or acute pain, wound healing, arthritis, migraines, disc herniations, minor nerve damage, carpal tunnel syndrome and many other conditions!
Accelerated healing, the primary goal for any kind of injury, is hard to demonstrate in one laser session. However, we can demonstrate the ability to increase your ranges of motion (ROM) and increase muscle strength by testing you before and after the laser treatment. By increasing your ROM, you are preserving the function and structure of your cartilage and discs. Movement brings vital nutrients and fluids to cartilage and discs. The less your neck, spine or joints move, the sooner breakdown of their tissue begins. The muscle strength test is performed in order to test nerve root function, not just muscle performance. Restored muscle strength after the laser treatment actually indicates that the nerve root has been reactivated. With a properly functioning nervous system, balanced muscle strength is available to optimally perform three vital functions: to move the body and joints, to stabilize joints and to inhibit pain at the spinal cord level.
This innovative treatment is being used by some of the leading physicians in the country and we are very excited to bring this to our patients! If you would like to learn more about this latest treatment, please contact our office to set up an appointment.
AUTHOR
