If you suffer from chronic pain, you’ve likely explored a range of options to deal with it. Whether it’s your muscles, bones, or joints, relief can seem elusive, especially when you’ve tried many existing treatments. As you begin looking for alternatives, you may hear about cold laser therapy, a unique treatment for chronic pain. It may even sound too good to be true- a treatment that attacks pain at the source and stimulates the natural healing capabilities in your body. But cold laser therapy is used for many types of chronic pain and has helped many people find long-term relief. Read on to understand how it works and if you may be a good fit for the innovative treatment.
What Is Cold Laser Therapy?
Cold laser therapy refers to a low-intensity, laser-based treatment that is designed to stimulate healing within the body. Despite the name, the lasers used are not actually cold, but are instead are not hot enough to heat your body tissue. This makes them cold compared to other popular high-intensity laser therapies. Instead, the light beams used are a specific wavelength that interacts with tissues to promote healing. You may still feel a warm sensation where it is used, as blood vessels are encouraged to expand and circulation is increased to the injured area. This produces enzymes and an anti-inflammatory effect that manages pain and speeds up recovery.
Common Uses for Cold Laser Therapy
People with a variety of ailments can benefit from cold laser therapy, as it is a very versatile option. The most common uses of cold laser therapy are for things like minor injuries and sprains. This may include ligament or muscle sprains, tendonitis, tennis elbow, neck pain, back pain, bursitis, knee pain, and other injuries. The reduction in swelling and inflammation brought about by the lasers can help with these issues, along with reducing muscle spasms that may increase pain.
If areas of the body are inflamed for other reasons, like illness, cold laser therapy can also be useful. Joints and problems in the mouth, pain from rheumatoid arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome are all reasons people seek out cold laser therapy. Some skin conditions may also be treated this way.
As a growing field, cold laser therapy is also being explored on a range of neurological and other conditions like traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Is Cold Laser Therapy for Me?
Because of the gentle, painless, and non-invasive nature of cold laser therapy, most people can safely undergo the treatment. Determining if it is the right fit for you will typically be based on the ailment you present with. Signs that cold laser therapy may be right for you include:
- Nagging joint or muscle pain that is not relieved with traditional treatment
- A prior injury that still bothers you after the initial recovery period
- Pain or discomfort after a surgery that is past the healing period
- General good health besides the site of your pain
A specialist will be able to assess your condition and determine if cold laser therapy is the right choice for you.
What to Expect During Cold Laser Therapy
Some people are worried about their first cold laser therapy treatment- after all, we don’t have lasers on our bodies every day! However, the treatment is very quick and are painless. You will sit or lie down in a way that is comfortable for you while a provider marks the intended treatment sites. They then deliver a controlled amount of low-level light directly to that part of your body. Most people report feeling the laser and a slight warmth, but no pain during the treatment.
Cold laser therapy usually requires multiple sessions to achieve the full effects, though you will likely leave your first session with some level of relief.
If you think cold laser therapy may help with your pain, the most important thing you can do is find a licensed healthcare professional who can properly administer the treatment. At AICA Orthopedics, we have specialists that perform cold laser therapy using state-of-the-art equipment, with class 4 lasers that are FDA approved and the most effective on the market.
The physical therapists, chiropractors, and physicians at AICA Orthopedics often recommend cold laser therapy to complement other treatments and promote healing while reducing pain for our patients, whether you have been in an accident or suffer from chronic pain. To start learning about cold laser therapy, contact the clinic that performs it more than anyone else in Georgia today!
