Laser therapy uses low-intensity light or waves to stimulate healing in cells and tissues. The therapy is also known as cold laser therapy because it does not heat or harm your body’s tissues. Laser therapy has many benefits, such as:
- Noninvasive procedure
- Simple administration
- Fewer complications
- Highly effective
Health professionals, including doctors, physical therapists, and dentists, use laser therapy in different ways. The treatment aims to repair tissue and relieve inflammation in muscles, leading to reduce discomfort and pain. What are the top five injuries treated with laser therapy? In today’s article, we will answer this question. Read on!
Achilles Tendonitis
Achilles tendonitis is a common condition that affects 11% of all sports injuries, leading to severe pain. The condition is painful and prevents a runner from walking and performing other day-to-day activities.
Research shows that low-level laser therapy increases blood flow to the affected area and speeds up tissue repair. It also revives nerve function, reduces discomfort, inflammation, and stimulates pain-relieving receptors. The immune response triggered by low-level laser therapy repairs damaged tissues.
Adductor Muscle Injury
An adductor muscle injury occurs in the groin muscles inside the thigh. Although an athlete can injure different muscles, Magnus, Medius, and Longus are the most common muscles injured. Adductor muscle injury occurs during acute muscle contraction.
For instance, when you kick, pivot, or skate, or push off in the opposite direction, you can injure your adductors. A growing body of research evidence shows that laser therapy combined with open cone attachment to the adductor complex can heal the injury. Not only does the low-level laser therapy reduces inflammation, but it also relieves pain in the affected areas.
Rotator Cuff Injury
The rotator cuff is an important muscle group in your shoulder area. These muscles with tendons hold the shoulder joint in place, allowing you to move your shoulder and arm quickly. The injury occurs there is irritation or inflammation in the rotator cuff, leading to weakness, reduced range of motion, and severe pain.
Health professionals recommend Class-IV laser therapy to heal the rotator cuff injury because it reduces inflammation, relieves pain, and triggers cellular mechanisms to provide essential nutrients to the affected area. Laser therapy decreases inflammatory factors and edema in the rotator cuff muscles.
It increases blood flow to the affected area and triggers intercellular and intracellular mechanisms to speed up collagen production, improve fibroblast activity, and release cytokines. All this leads to accelerated healing of the damaged rotator cuff muscle.
Jumper’s knee
The jumper’s knee is an injury to the tissue that connects your kneecap to the patellar tendon or shine bone. The most common symptoms of the jumper’s knee are tenderness around the shin bone, inflammation, and pain with walking, running, and jumping.
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Class-IV lasers for healing the jumper’s knee. It can reduce pain, strengthen knee joint muscles, and increase range of motion. Health professionals recommend at least 3-4 treatment sessions per week.
Medial Epicondylitis of Humerus
Medial epicondylitis, also known as tennis elbow, is a painful condition that causes inflammation, tenderness, and pain in the humerus. Repetitive stress injury, forceful finger or wrist motions lead to stiffness and pain in the elbow. As a result, it causes medial epicondylitis of the humerus.
Heat and ice therapies, stretching, and NSAIDs can relieve pain temporarily. However, if your pain persists for over 3-4 weeks, it wise to undergo laser therapy. The laser therapy stimulates fibroblasts to increase collagen production, leading to accelerated tissue repair and healing of the damaged humerus.
Final Words
Laser therapy, also known as cold therapy, is an excellent treatment option for people with damaged tissues and injuries resulting from slip-and-fall, sports injuries, car accidents, etc. It can treat acute and chronic pain by triggering your body’s natural healing mechanisms.