COLD LASER THERAPY - heals tissues - FDA approved

[Guest guest]

After my exposure, I had both periodontal and neurological damage..

In order to heal these tissues, my chiropractor used a Cold Laser

Therapy devise, which he adjusted at different levels depending on

which area he was " zapping " at the time. :-) Each treatment took

about 10 minutes and significantly helped to heal my gums, sinuses,

brain.. any tissue which needed fast healing.

Please read the following article on Cold Laser Therapy:

Posted on Sat, Sep. 10, 2005

Cold-laser device boosts healingMATT GRISWOLDHerald Staff

WriterMANATEE - Sufferers of chronic pain like arthritis and carpal

tunnel syndrome now have another treatment option in Manatee County

that involves neither drugs nor surgery.

Thanks to a hand-held laser about the size of a flashlight, Dr.

Mester is seeing recovery times for certain injuries and ailments

that a few years ago he wouldn't have thought possible.

" The results we're seeing here are just phenomenal, " Mester

said. " It's like magic. "

It's really not magic, but rather natural physiology. The magic is in

the ingenuity of the cold-laser technology's creator, as the low-

energy beams start a process called photobiostimulation. The laser,

which is virtually unnoticeable to the human skin, increases the

body's cellular metabolic rate and expedites cell repair.

Translation: The laser helps the body heal itself faster while

minimizing pain in the process.

Mester, who owns Mester Chiropractic Office at 7018 Cortez Road in

the 71st Street Plaza, believes his office to be the only one in

Manatee County with the cold-laser technology.

If the treatment catches on as much as Mester thinks it will, the

boom will represent a huge win for Texas-based Microlight Corp. The

company holds a patent on the laser and its specific wavelength,

which will prevent any other laser manufacturer from bringing a

competitor to market. The key is in the wavelength - 830 nanometers -

which clinical studies show to be the optimum length for maximum

results. The laser itself costs between $6,000 and $7,000, Mester

said.

It's also the only laser of its kind with FDA approval, which it won

on Feb. 11, 2002. Microlight spent $4 million on the clincal trials

during the approval process.

At 830 nanometers, the laser can penetrate about 2 inches into soft

human tissue spread over a 3-centimeter circumference. Treatment is

usually about 20 minutes or less three times a week. The laser

stimulation can be used to treat all kinds of ailments, but carpal

tunnel syndrome, arthritic conditions, neck and back pain and

tendonitis are among some of the more common health problems.

Mester said the laser can even be used for vanity treatments,

including the removal of spider veins. And the best news: There are

zero side effects.

" The laser cannot physically hurt you, " he said. " We have a need for

medication, but there are other areas where I think this is going to

take its place.

" We started with a patient a week ago. We're now on their third

treatment and they think we're God. "

All patients respond, though every person reacts to treatment

differently, said Callahan, a partner with Mester in the

Bradenton clinic and a licensed massage therapist. Patients sometimes

show improvement immediately, he said.

The laser is also applicable to treating a plethora of sports-related

injuries. According to Microlight Corp. materials, the Super Bowl

champion New England Patriots used the laser to treat injuries last

season, including pulled hamstrings and other tendon and muscle

injuries.

Microlight founder Mike Barbour himself has trained a number of high-

profile NFL players on how to use the laser to help them rehabilitate

faster. Among them: Kellen Winslow Jr., LaVar Arrington, n

and Ty Law.

Barbour said it's the insurance industry and consumer demand that

drives medical technology. Until insurance companies cover laser

treatments, there will be resistence from some doctors to pay for the

equipment and take the time to train to use it.

Carpal tunnel syndrome-related surgeries cost the insurance industry

$5 billion annually and only have a 25-percent success rate.

" Once the insurance companies understand its economic benefit - and

we're getting pretty close to it - then it'll be mandated and become

the treatment of choice, " Barbour said.

Clinical research on the laser technology at the University of Kansas

Medical Center says that while " most soft tissues require seven to 10

days to heal, primary healing of tendons and other dense connective

tissues take as much as six to eight weeks during which they are

inevitably protected in immobilization casts to avoid re-injury. "

While acknowledging differences between the physiology of rabbits and

humans, the medical staff conducting the study were encouraged by the

results.

" Such long periods of immobilization impair functional rehabilitation

and predispose a multitude of complications that could be minimized

if healing is quickened and the duration of cast immobilization

reduced, " the published clinical research papers said. The

lasers " promote healing of experimentally severed and repaired rabbit

Achilles' tendons as evidenced by biochemical, biomechanical, and

morphological indices of healing. "

Mester, for one, says the laser technology is here to stay.

" This is the future, " Mester said. " And it's awesome. "

Matt Griswold, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 708-7908,

or at mgriswold@....

Cold-laser info

Acute and chronic conditions that may be improved or eliminated using

cold-laser technology: arthritis, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome,

heel spurs, migraine headaches, whiplash, post-operative pain,

repetitive stress, tendonitis, sprains and swelling.

Mester Chiropractic Office is at 7018 Cortez Road W. in the 71st

Street Plaza, Bradenton. Information: 792-4357.

On the Web: http://Microlightcorp.com