Laser Therapy for Pain

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Targeting PAIN by BILL RADFORD THE GAZETTE, Gazette, The (Colorado

Springs) > Jan 23, 2006

Forget about taking a pill to ease your aches and pains.

Instead, you may be able to zap your pain away.

Low-level laser therapy has long been used by veterinarians to

foster healing and reduce inflammation in animals. Now it's

increasingly being used to treat people, too.

" This is an up-and-coming technology, " says Rea, owner of Edge

Rehabilitation and Wellness in Colorado Springs.

The technology is more established in Europe, where doctors and

therapists have used it for 20 years or longer. In the United

States, chiropractors make up the bulk of practitioners using the

laser therapy. But it's gaining a foothold in traditional medicine

as well, primarily through physical therapy.

Rea, an occupational therapist, was a skeptic at first. But after

talking to fellow therapists and reviewing studies, " I reached my

threshold, my comfort level. "

Low-level lasers, also known as soft, cold or biostimulation lasers,

don't produce heat as higher-powered lasers do. Cold lasers are said

to deliver light energy deep into tissue and promote

photobiostimulation, which reduces pain, inflammation and healing

time. Proponents say they are faster and more effective than similar

devices using LEDs, or lightemitting diodes.

Rea uses the MicroLight ML830 laser, which was approved by the Food

and Drug Administration in early 2002 for treating carpal tunnel

syndrome. He got the $5,000 laser, which resembles a Mag- Lite

flashlight, in November and has used it to treat shoulder and knee

pain, TMJ problems, plantar fasciitis and osteoarthritis.

With some patients, expected healing time has been cut by half, he

says. " It just keeps on proving itself. "

Some of the strongest research on cold lasers relates to their use

in treating arthritis pain, Rea says. The Ottawa Panel, a group of

experts that creates evidence-based practice guidelines, lists

lowlevel laser therapy among treatments it recommends for rheumatoid

arthritis.

Many insurance companies aren't convinced. Cigna is among companies

that don't cover low-level laser therapy, calling it " experi-

mental, investigational and unproven. "

Carol Plummer is a believer, though. The 58-year-old had been

struggling with pain for about two years; she has plantar fasciitis,

a common cause of heel pain, plus tendonitis in her Achilles tendon.

Laser therapy at Edge Rehabilitation succeeded where other

therapies, such as ultrasound, didn't.

" I noticed it right away, it was less sore. And I have progressively

gotten better, " she says.

Some athletic trainers have embraced the technology. Cycling great

Lance Armstrong and members of the New England Patriots are among

athletes reported to have used cold lasers. The Olympic Training

Centers have used low-level laser therapy for a couple of years.

The therapy has been found to reduce pain and inflammation and

increase range of motion with some athletes' injuries, says Margaret

Hunt, head athletic trainer at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training

Center.

It seems to work best on tissues that are relatively superficial,

such as injured thumbs, wrists and ankles, she said.

Although some companies tout their lasers as the be-all and end-

all, the training center uses laser therapy in conjunction with many

other treatments, Hunt says.

" We haven't conducted any studies to say that this works alone best

in these situations, " she says.

Carl Malone, a massage therapist and coowner of Alternative

Rehabilitation Therapies Inc. in Colorado Springs, has used a cold

laser since 2002. He often uses it in conjunction with massage on

patients referred to him by doctors, podiatrists and chiropractors.

" It works really well with calming muscle tension and spasm, " he

says.

Clients don't feel the laser, he says; it doesn't produce heat.

Sessions generally last a few minutes. The number of sessions

depends on the person and the ailment.

" The pain may be cut in half with one visit, " he says.

He also has found it reliable in treating his own ailments,

including quickly reducing pain and swelling from a smashed finger.

" I'm my own best client, " he says. " I'm always hurting myself from

running and whatnot. "

CONTACT THE WRITER: bill.radford@...