When the body has an injury, the cells are damaged and fail to function within normally. The Erchonia cold laser uses energy to penetrate deeply into the skin and works by restoring normal cellular function. The laser uses a non-heat producing light laser, which works within specific wavelengths for optimal treatment. Cold laser, or Low Level Laser Therapy is emerging as a premier therapeutic modality in the healing arts community.
The biological effects of Low Level Laser Therapy have been shown to significantly accelerate and enhance the body’s natural defense and repair abilities. By reducing inflammation and enhancing specific repair processes, low level laser therapy has been proven to provide pain relief, reducing cell damage due to the injury and resulting loss of function. Low Level Laser Therapy enables the body to have a more rapid repair and stronger tissues once healed. Physiologic effects include improved metabolism, circulation and tissue healing.
THE COLD LASER, OR LOW LEVEL LASER THERAPY, CAN BE USED FOR:
- Inflammatory conditions – carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis, plantar fasciitis, bursitis, colitis, arthritis, bronchitis with excellent results.
- Pain management for fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, neck, thoracic and low back pain.
- Connective tissue disorders such as sprains, strains, and tendonitis.
- Joint injuries such as TMJ disorders, osteoarthritis, and ligament injuries.
- Muscle injury or disorders such as muscle bruises, contusions, and muscle shortening contractures like frozen shoulders.
- Neurological injury or disorders such as prolapsed disc, ruptured or herniated discs, crush injuries, neuritis, and headaches.
SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW COLD LASER IS USED:
- PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES: top athletes use cold laser in order to return to competition at a much accelerated pace. Jeff Spencer, chiropractor to many of the most elite athletes, states that if an injured athlete can get in for laser treatment within 2-3 hours of the injury, rehabilitation time can be cut in half.
- NERVE AND SPINAL INJURIES: rehabilitation of severed nerve bundles, at a rate of 300% faster than a control group tested in a University of Health and Sciences, Bethesda, MD, (research study conducted by Anders and Broke). It suggests promising results will be found in the future for peripheral nerve damage and possible spinal cord injuries.
EXPLANATION OF LIGHT (LASER) THERAPY
Light therapy is not a new concept. The sun’s photonic rays cause a seed to sprout through RNA and DNA changes. The sun’s rays are full-spectrum light, which means many wavelengths are present (400-800 Nanometers), but only one specific wavelength, or frequency, causes the seeds to germinate. In 1924 Bose and Einstein, great men of science, predicted the laser. Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
In 1978, Dr. Frolich helped to establish the Wave Particle Theory, which now forms the foundation of quantum physics and defines the mechanism of life, as we now know it. Human cells, tissue and organs have specific frequencies that regulate important cellular functions such as protein synthesis, cellular division and communication. Frolich used quantum physics to explain that a cell’s living matrix must produce coherent or laser-like oscillations, unique resonances. He stated that these resonances serve as signals that integrate processes such as growth, injury repair, immune mediation, and the overall functioning of the organism. Each molecule, cell, tissue and organ has an ideal resonance frequency that coordinates its activity. Using certain laser frequencies can alter or balance the body’s systemic defense and repair mechanism.
In 1994, Dr. Smith stated that pathologies manifest themselves as chemical imbalances with the underlying cause being electromagnetic. By applying a specific frequency, normal function and balance can be restored. Physicists Schawlow and Townes brought the laser into modern medical arenas, where they are being used for a variety of treatments. Most of the lasers used in the medical field have been High Frequency Hot Lasers, which are catabolic (destructive) in nature such as the ones used in eye surgery. Cold Lasers are anabolic, or regenerative (not destructive) in nature.
Laser therapy is based on photochemical and photobiological effects of the cells and tissues. With laser light, cell functions are stimulated, especially the increase of a cell’s ATP (energy). This increase in ATP synthesis is associated with increased cell metabolism, increased collagen synthesis, stimulation of DNA formation, improved immune system function and increased new formation of capillaries. The laser also has been shown to increase neurotransmitters (serotonin), to increase and enhance tissue regeneration through increasing fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The laser can also increase antioxidants and accelerate bone and scar healing.
Research shows that every cell has a least three kinds of basic receptors for neurotransmitters (i.e., serotonin, dopamine), hormones (insulin, thyroid, estrogen) and photoreceptors. The laser affects human cells through the photoreceptors, causing a physiological effect. Nerves, for example, are affected by the temperature, the pH within the cell, the oxygen available, and the amount of ATP (a cellular unit of energy) available. The laser stimulates ATP production and oxygen at a cellular level, which activates enzymatic cascades that help the cell to detoxify itself. These changes activate the cells and nerves and set up an environment in which they function best.
Please call our ,Plano chiropractic office at 972-612-1800 to set up your laser session today.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Laser Therapy Clinical Practice and Scientific Background” by Jan Turner and Lars Hode Prima Books, 2002
- “Therapeutic Laser, Theory and Practice” by G. David Baxter Churchill Livingston, 1999
- “Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis” by James L. Oschman PhD Churchill Livingston 2000