Conditions Treated
Low Intensity Laser Therapy can be used to treat a myriad of conditions from sports injuries to degenerative conditions.
Conditions such as the ones on this list can benefit from Laser Therapy treatments. Click on each of the conditions below to view more details about what they entail.
Accident Injuries
Many types of injuries can happen by accident. Car accidents, whiplash, torn muscles or ligaments, contusions caused by trauma, or muscle strains and repetitive stress injuries are all injuries that can occur in our daily lives. Laser therapy can speed the healing process, getting you back to a pain free state.
Bulging and Herniated Discs
Bulging and herniated discs are a condition of the spine in which the discs between vertebrae protrude from their normal position. It is often a result of trauma or lifting injuries. If the disc is torn, the resulting inflammation may cause nerve compression resulting in severe pain and discomfort.
Laser Therapy can help eliminate the pain and discomfort associated with a bulging or herniated disc by removing the inflammation caused by the injury. In addition, it will accelerate any nerve injury that may result from your disc compression.
Bursitis
Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursae (small sacs) of synovial fluid in the body often caused by repetitive movement. These bursae act as cushions. Healthy bursae create a smooth surface in your joints, allowing for painless movements. When the bursa becomes inflamed, however, movement becomes difficult and painful. Movement of tendons and muscles over inflamed bursa aggravate it further, producing even more inflammation.
Laser Therapy can resolve your bursitis by quickly removing the underlying problem: the inflammation. With the resolution of the inflammation, the associated pain and discomfort with movement will also be resolved.
Calcifications (e.g. Bone Spurs)
A bone spur is a bony growth formed on normal bone. This extra bone formation can cause wear and tear, or pain if it rubs on other bones or soft tissue. Bone spurs form in response to prolonged stress over an area. The body tries to repair itself by building extra bone known as a “spur”. Common places for bone spurs to form include shoulders, feet, knees, hands, and hips.
Laser Therapy can help reduce the presence of bone spurs and the pain associated with them.
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which there is pressure on the median nerve at the location of the wrist. This nerve is responsible for supplying feeling and movement to parts of the hand. Pressure on this nerve can cause numbness and tingling in the hand and fingers. As the nerve enters the hand through a narrow area in your wrist called the carpal tunnel, any swelling in this area can cause the nerve to be pinched, resulting in the numbness and tingling.
Laser therapy can help relieve both the cause and symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome by improving the circulation to your wrists and reducing the inflammation constricting the carpal tunnel.
Contusions
A muscle contusion or bruise can be caused by a direct blow, or repeated trauma, to a part of the body. This trauma damages underlying muscle and connective tissue resulting in internal bleeding and bruising. Contusions can be caused by a variety of situations including falls, jamming the body against a hard surface, sports-related impacts, or surgeries.
Laser therapy can help resolve contusions by healing the damaged underlying tissue, reducing inflammation, and improving circulation to the injured area allowing for maximum tissue repair.
Discongenic and Vertebrogenic Radiculopathy
Radiculopathy is a condition characterized by tingling and numbness in the arms or legs. It is caused by a herniated disc or degeneration of the vertebrae that creates pain in your spinal nerves.
Laser Therapy can treat discogenic or vertebrogenic radiculopathy by increasing blood flow to the spinal column and the surrounding nerve roots, alleviating your pain and promoting nerve healing.
Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow)
Epicondylitis is an overuse injury occurring on the outside aspect of the elbow. Inflammation of tendons that join the forearm muscles to the elbow cause pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow. Extension of the arm or wrist and grasping objects becomes painful.
Laser Therapy can rapidly help alleviate the pain caused by epicondylitis by reducing the inflammation of the tendons and allowing the body to heal at a cellular level.
Fractures with Soft Tissue Injury
When a bone fractures, the soft tissue around the fracture is injured. Regardless of whether or not this tissue damage presents with a bruise on the surface of your skin, the tissue around the fracture becomes compromised and painful. The damaged tissue around a bone fracture means there will be less circulation to the area and therefore inhibited healing.
Laser Therapy can help bone fractures with associated soft tissue damage by reducing inflammation, increasing cellular energy, and improving blood flow to the injured area. Ultimately, healthier surrounding tissue will enhance bone fracture healing.
Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are common to the weekend warrior and elite athlete alike. Because of the many structures within the knee, many problems may arise from repetitive stress injuries to acute ligament tears/sprains.
Low intensity laser therapy restores the injured soft tissue to its normal function by improving blood supply, removing inflammation and increasing the amount of cellular energy around the injured structure.
Ligament and Tendon Tears
Torn or strained ligaments and tendons can cause extensive swelling in the injured area and can be very painful. Also, as a result of the injury, scar tissue can form around the injured tissue in an attempt to strengthen the now weakened area. The problem with scar tissue is that when it forms, it binds to the damaged area in a scattered pattern. This changes the way that muscles contract and stretch. Once this happens, activities that would otherwise not be uncomfortable become difficult and guarded.
Laser Therapy can help reduce the inflammation and pain associated with ligament and tendon tears by improving blood circulation to the area. It will also reduce the presence of scar tissue by strengthening and re-organizing muscle fibers so that they contract and stretch smoothly and naturally.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is one of the most common joint conditions. It is a result of both aging and regular wear and tear. Under normal conditions, cartilage in the joints acts as a cushion between bones. When that cartilage starts to break down and wear away, the bones begin to rub together causing pain, swelling, and stiffness. Simple movements are now difficult.
Laser Therapy can help by improving blood flow to your joints, alleviating the swelling and associated pain.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammatory condition of the connective tissue on the bottom surface of the foot. It is a condition that commonly causes stabbing pain in the heel of the foot, especially in the morning or after long periods of standing. This condition can impact your mobility and your daily activities.
Laser Therapy can help plantar fasciitis by treating it at its most basic, cellular level. By improving the blood flow to the affected area and decreasing the inflammation, laser therapy can eliminate the pain and suffering caused by this condition.
Repetitive Strain Syndrome
Repetitive strain syndrome refers to injuries of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems caused by repetitive tasks (e.g. Tennis Elbow) that result in inflammation of muscle, tendons, and ligaments. Many activities can lead to a repetitive strain injury. Computer work, repetitive finger movements without rest, bending the wrists for long periods, gripping tools forcefully, etc., can strain tendons, ligaments, and muscles causing injury.
Repetitive strain injuries are often called tendonitis.
Laser Therapy can help repetitive strain injuries by improving blood circulation to the injured area, enhancing cellular energy, and eliminating inflammation. This will decrease your pain and improve your range of motion.
Rotator Cuff Injury
The rotator cuff is a collection of muscles that work to stabilize the shoulder joint. An injury to any of these muscles can cause extreme pain with any movement of the arm and can severely restrict your range of motion due to inflammation in the joint. This injury can occur as a result of a trauma, or from wear-and-tear due to repetitive movement.
Laser Therapy improves circulation to the shoulder, reduces inflammation, pain, and restrictions to movement caused by the injury. It fixes the rotator cuff injury by allowing the tissue to repair at an accelerated rate.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis refers to an abnormal narrowing of the spinal column, causing pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves as they leave the spine. Symptoms of a spinal stenosis may include numbness and tingling of the extremities, neck, or shoulders, weakness, and impaired motor control or balance.
Laser therapy can help alleviate all of the symptoms associated with a spinal stenosis. By increasing blood flow to the area laser therapy can reduce the inflammation on the spinal column, removing the pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. In the absence of the pressure, all the symptoms of a spinal stenosis will disappear allowing you to return to your regular activities free of discomfort.
Sports Injuries
Many types of injuries can happen while playing sports. Whether you play recreationally or competitively, torn muscles or ligaments, contusions caused by trauma, muscle strains and sprains, broken bones, or dislocations are all injuries that can occur while playing sports. Laser therapy can speed the healing process by treating your injury at its most basic and cellular level. It will get you back to training and playing in a pain free state with no restrictions to your range of motion.
Synovitis
Synovitis is a condition in which the membranes that line our joints become inflamed. We experience it as a swollen joint. It is a very painful condition when the joint is moved. Not only does it cause tenderness in the joint, but the joints become swollen due to fluid collection, and can often form hard lumps (nodules).
Laser Therapy can help by improving blood flow to the area and thereby allowing the accumulated fluid to be flushed away. It can also help by removing the inflammation, allowing the joints to be moved without pain or discomfort.
Tendonitis
Tendonitis is a condition in which a tendon becomes inflamed. When the smooth, gliding motion of your tendon becomes impaired, the tendon itself becomes irritated and movement becomes painful. Tendonitis is often an overuse injury, especially with starting a new activity or exercise. Tennis elbow (or epicondylitis) is a common type of tendonitis.
Laser therapy can help by improving circulation to the affected area and removing the inflammation that afflicts the tendon. Once the area is no longer inflamed, the tendon will once again move smoothly and no longer cause pain when used.
TMJ Dysfunction
Laser Therapy eliminates the pain associated with TMJ dysfunction and improves joint function by improving circulation to the area and reducing inflammation around the joint.
Torn Muscles
Torn muscles are a common injury whether you are an athlete or just enjoy activities recreationally. Laser therapy can help speed your recovery process by improving circulation to the injured tissue, removing inflammation, and increasing cellular energy. Laser therapy will get you back to your activities, pain free and with no restrictions to your range of motion. Hamstring or quadriceps pulls are examples of these injuries.
