Low Level Lasers and Pain
Anyone who reads my columns knows that I'm generally anti-pharmaceutical drugs. Or at least, I consider drug therapy to be a very blunt instrument only to be used as a last resort. Most drugs exist to block something that the body is trying to do. Even the descriptions of the drugs are framed in negative terms. Examples are antibiotics, antihypertensives, hormone blockers, anti-inflammatory meds, antidepressants, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and the list goes on. The single factor that ties almost all drugs together is that they are not made to cure anything. They are made to just block a symptom or provide temporary relief from some discomfort.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the treatment of pain syndromes. If you go into the doctor for a pain related symptom, say low back pain, you will receive a pain killer, or an anti-inflammatory drug, or muscle relaxant, or all three. None of these will cure your back pain, but hopefully it will give you some relief while you hope and pray that the back pain disappears. Maybe you see a chiropractor on the side, but don't mention it to your doctor!
Therefore, I'm always on the hunt for nonpharmaceutical ways of addressing pain in medical situations. And for pain, I discovered something that not only works for the symptoms but encourages healing. I'm talking about low-level lasers, also known as "cold lasers". Although this sounds like new technology, the first peer-reviewed double-blind controlled studies on low-level lasers are over 20 years old and the supporting research in the fields of bionics, photo biology, and biophysics are over 75 years old.
The first thing to be clear of in low level laser therapy is that this is a different type of laser than the laser that is used as scalpels, for surgery, in construction, or anything else where the goal is to cut something. We use a class II laser which is perfectly safe, although we do have patients wear protective eyewear
The FDA classifies low-level lasers as non-heating instruments (NHN). The laser itself is designed to repair tissue, reduce pain and inflammation, and boost healing. Other low-level lasers are designed to shrink fat and cellulite. Lasers work in some ways similar to how photosynthesis works in plants. That is, the light is absorbed and interacts with light-sensitive parts of the body's cells. The result is stimulating of the energy-producing mitochondria of those cells, through the production of something called ATP, the fuel that drives biological processes.
The low-level laser we use in the office is by a company called Erchonia, which produces a number of lasers for different uses. The wavelength is 635 nm, which has been found to be effective in a variety of pain syndromes. The FDA has actually approved the use of this laser for overall musculoskeletal pain syndromes, saying there’s “substantial” evidence of its usefulness. This includes all patients with fibromyalgia, as well as chronic muscle pains. In addition, the FX 635 laser has been FDA approved for two other painful conditions, chronic low back pain and plantar fasciitis. Between the two of these, vast numbers of the population have suffered, and as I said before, the standard solutions are no bargain. In the case of planter fasciitis, painful injections are sometimes used with no guarantee of success.
We’ve begun to use our low-level laser in all sorts of pain situations, including frozen shoulder, hip pains and even sinus pains. The principles are the same no matter where in the body it’s used, that is, cell healing is stimulated, and energy is promoted in the muscle and skeletal tissues being treated. The patient doesn’t feel anything during the treatment, other than occasionally feeling a slight tingling. The safety record is well-documented in FDA records.
We’ve also gotten interested in “off-label” uses such as stimulating brain activity in illnesses such as Parkinson’s Disease (I’m the guinea pig being treated for that indication!). And we’ve also begun to look into other frequency producing cold lasers, particularly the ones that are used for fat loss, cellulite and so-called body sculpting. In the same way that we’re doing away with the need for dangerous pain-relieving and other meds, we’re looking forward to replacing a dangerous procedure like liposuction with a less expensive, safe, painless and effective series of low-level laser treatments.
Visit the Liquid Gold IV Bar website for more information and scheduling!