LOW LEVEL LIGHT THERAPY - LLLT - "COLD LASER"
- Non-painful treatment.
- Simple and fast.
- Insurance covers.
- Tendonitis, TMJ, Carpal Tunnel, Fibromyalgia, Myofascial pain, Wound healing;
Scar recovery, Strain and Sprain, chronic joint pain.
The Solaris D890 Therapy Probe incorporates one laser diode emitting a wavelength
of 875 nm and 3 red diodes emitting a wavelength of 660nm with a maximum power
output of 625 mW. The Solaris D880plus Infrared Cluster Probe uses 32 infrared
super luminous diodes emitting a wavelength of 880nm and 4 red diodes emitting
a wavelength of 660nm. The differences in LLLT units lies in the power with
which the light is delivered. The D880plus Probe has a maximum power output
of 1000 mW compared to the maximum output power of a 500 mW probe thus reducing
treatment time to 30 seconds per burst, which is then typically repeated several
times.
With the LLLT machine I can treat chronic pain conditions and trigger points,
tendonitis, myofascial pain sites, and chronic joint pain in a way we had not
been able
to before. We have the system operating and it has been well received. Light
Therapy is very non-invasive, and it is covered by insurance. There are several
pathways proposed to explain the results, but the bottom line is that this therapy
may be useful to you.
Light Therapy is backed by extensive research with over 500 published studies
covering a number of soft-tissue injuries, pain, and inflammatory conditions.
These include more than 100 positive, double blind clinical studies (12), hundreds
of positive in vitro studies, lots of animal studies, all pointing
into one direction - it works. Since laser therapy works at a cellular level
by improving the activity of cells in a reduced condition, almost any pathological
situation will improve through laser therapy. But according to the way we are
used to looking at medical therapies, there is no such thing as "takes
it all".
Being skeptical is a good scientific quality and accepting a shift of paradigm
takes a lot of documentation! As of 2003, there were more than 50 different
medical indications described in the literature, 18 in the list of double blind
studies.
At Blue Heron Chiropractic, we are using cluster probes with light emitting
diodes (LEDs) as the active sources. Cluster probes often pair infrared diodes
together with laser diodes. The type of light we apply is a combination of red
and far-red light using a multi-probe. We are typically applying non-coherent,
continuous or pulsed light.
Treatment once a week may be inappropriate for an acute condition but may be
appropriate for a chronic condition. The pathology will determine the frequency
of treatment. It is rather common to start a treatment series with two or three
sessions per week and after some time go down to one treatment per week. In
the
clinical situation, the intervals can be related to the patient's response.
Light therapy is a relative contraindication in persons with a history of cancer.
1) Mester E et al. Effect of laser-rays on wound healing. Am
J Surg. 1971; 122 (4): 532-535.
2) Tunér J, Hode L. It's all in the parameters: a critical analysis of
some well-known negative studies on low-level laser therapy. J Clin Laser Med
Surg. 1998; 16 (5): 245-248.
3) Tunér J. The Cochrane analyses - can they be improved? Laser Therapy.
1999; 11 (3): 138-143.
4) Beckerman H et al: The efficacy of laser therapy for mucoskeletal and skin
disorders: a criteria-based meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Physical
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5) Gam A N et al: The effect of low-level laser therapy on musculo-skeletal
pain: a meta-analysis. Pain. 1993; 52: 63-66.
6) Flemming K, Cullum N: Laser Therapy for venous leg ulcers (Cochrane review).
In: The Cochrane Library, 4, 2000.
7) Brosseau L, Welch V, Wells G et al: Low level laser therapy (Classes I, II
and III) for treating Osteoarthritis. The Cochrane Library. Issue 4, 2000.
8) Brosseau L, Welch V, Wells G et al: Low level laser therapy (Classes I, II
and III) for treating rheumatoid arthritis. The Cochrane Library. Issue 4, 2000.
9) Bjordal J M, Greve G. What may alter the conclusions of reviews? Physical
Therapy Reviews. 1998; 3: 121-132.
10) Bjordal J M, Couppe C, Ljunggren A. Low level laser therapy for tendinopathies.
Evidence of a dose-response pattern. Physical Therapy Reviews. 2001; 6 (2):
91-100.
11) Bjordal J M, Couppè C, Chow R T, Tunér J, Ljunggren A E. A
systematic review of low level laser therapy with location-specific doses for
pain from chronic joint disorders. Australian J Physiotherapy. 2003; 49: 107-116.
12) Tunér J. 100 positive double-blind studies: enough or too little?
Proc. SPIE. 1999; Vol. 4166: 226-232.