The Low Level Laser therapy uses red and near infrared light and has been used for many years on sports injuries, arthritic joints, neuropathic pain syndromes, back and neck pain, wounds and different skin conditions. Treatments can take about 10 -15 minutes and should be applied two or more times a week.
It dramatically reduces musculature pain and inflammation as well as promoting tissue repair and enhancing the immune system wherever the laser beam is applied. The therapy has proved not to display any side effects, as the light laser treats only the stressed cells where the healthy ones show no or little response.
How Does LLLT Work?
Human body’s healing cells are stimulated and recovery optimized by directly treating damaged tissue with particular and appropriate wavelengths of light.
LLLT ( Low Level Laser Therapy ) works to develop the function of cells involved in tissue repair, treating the chemical pathways that cause pain, and improve nerve function. Low Level Laser Therapy sessions last 15-20 minutes and 6-8 sessions are usually required for full recovery.
Dependent on your particular condition and its severity, LLLT is offered on a once or twice-weekly basis using progressively less frequent treatments until your condition has been healed. You will feel nothing at the point of application and many patients report a wonderfully relaxing sensation, due to the release of endorphins through your body.
The physiological effects of Low Level Laser Therapy have been extensively researched and tested by medical professionals and the details of the mechanisms are becoming increasingly understood.
Initial absorption by the mitochondria (the cell’s power producers, converting light energy into forms usable by the cell) leads to increased fibroblast cell proliferation and migration, with modulation of cytokine levels, growth factors, inflammatory mediators and increased tissue oxygenation which is all part of your body’s natural healing process.
LLLT is especially effective for chronic conditions or where the immune system has been compromised as it can also re-start a stalled healing process.
LLLT is an excellent therapy for treating, among st other ailments, back pain, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, persistent headaches and migraines and arthritis.
The Evidence
In an ever-growing field of interventions for pain and inflammation, LLLT has a very strong evidence base. There are over 200 randomized clinical trials that have been published on LLLT, half of which are on pain. In the last three years, five systematic reviews have been favorable towards LLLT.
BMJ Sports Medicine Journal (2010)
Systematic review of surgical and conservative interventions for frozen shoulder found strong evidence for LLLT.
The International Association for the Study of Pain (2010)
Found strong evidence for LLLT on myofascial pain syndrome.
American Physical Therapy Association (2010)
Guidelines recommend LLLT for Achilles tendonitis.
Lancet (2009)
Systematic review of neck pain concluded that “LLLT reduces pain immediately after treatment in acute neck pain and up to 22 weeks after completion of treatment in patients with chronic neck pain”. This review was in Lancet’s top 20 most downloaded papers for 2010.
World Health Organization (Bone and Joint Task Force) (2008)
Found LLLT more effective than no treatment, placebo, or alternative interventions for neck pain.
