Overview
Laser therapy is a highly effective and pain-free method by which to treat a wide variety of pain and inflammatory conditions ~ such as strains, sprains, back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fascitis, TMJ syndrome, tinnitus,
non-healing wounds, neuropathies, and arthritis, as well as many other conditions.
Treatments are quick and typically provide immediate relief, as well as secondary and cumulative results.
AcuLaser Therapy
AcuLaser therapy, as practiced by Virginia Mims, LAc, synergistically blends traditional acupuncture with modern laser therapy, resulting in focused treatments that are fast, efficient, and highly effective.
There are two treatment options for AcuLaser therapy in this practice. The first is adding laser therapy to your traditional acupuncture treatment as a powerful adjunct modality. Alternatively, laser therapy can be your primary treatment method, enhanced by the addition of carefully selected acupuncture points, involving minimal needling.
For patients looking to maximize the pain relief of every treatment, or for patients who do not like needles, AcuLaser therapy is an ideal way to experience the combined benefits of acupuncture and phototherapy.
What is laser therapy?
Laser therapy (also referred to as low level laser therapy (LLLT), cold laser therapy, therapeutic laser, or phototherapy) is the use of specific wavelengths of light to stimulate therapeutic effects on a cellular level. This process is known as phototherapy, or photobiomodulation: the process by which exposure to light triggers a chain of chemical reactions.
If you harken back to high school physics, you’ll remember that photons are the units of energy of light that are both wave-like and particle-like. Laser therapy delivers a concentrated amount of photons into the tissue, where the cells absorb them and convert them from light energy into biochemical energy. The photons interact with cells at the level of the mitochondria (the power house of the cell), stimulating increased production of ATP (the energy unit of the cell) by up to 500%.
What’s amazing is that one photon activates one enzyme molecule… but that one enzyme molecule, in turn, can process thousands of other substrate molecules. This is the mechanism by which a relatively small amount of energy produces significant biological effects.
Through initiating a variety of biochemical processes, laser therapy optimizes cells’ ability to naturally heal themselves. The end result is:
What distinguishes the TerraQuant from other lasers?
The laser selected for this practice is the TerraQuant Cold Laser with Advanced Super Pulse Technology(TM). TerraQuant lasers have been used in more than 30 countries over the last 15 years. The TerraQuant is the only laser to offer the unique combination of four different types of therapeutic technologies:
- low level super-pulsed laser
- wide-based infrared radiation
This combination helps to relieve pain, decrease inflammation, and optimize cellular conditions for natural healing by:
- Stimulating cellular activity, growth, and metabolism
- Stimulating enzyme synthesis
- Increasing cellular respiration (optimizes the intake of nutrition and the expulsion
of waste)
- Increasing the energy of the cell
- Enhancing collagen synthesis
- Providing antioxidant effect
- Supporting the immune system
SuperPulse Technology
The superpulse technology of the TerraQuant is particularly remarkable. By “superpulsing”, the laser is able to provide a high amount of energy and photon density while maintaining a very low mean energy output. It provides a peak pulse of 25 and 50 Watts (depending on the emitter), but sustains it for only 100–200 nanoseconds, resulting in mean power outputs of only 1.5-7.5 milliWatts, respectively.
These peak pulses allows for short treatment times at deep levels of penetration (up to 4–5 inches, for accessing deep structures such as discs, joints, tendons, ligaments, and organs not accessible by other lasers), while the low mean output prevents the generation of heat.
Conditions Commonly Treated with Phototherapy in the U.S.
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
- Repetitive Stress Injuries
Advantages of Laser Therapy
- Treatments generally last less than 20 minutes
- No need to stop or modify work/activities
- Effective rate upwards of 80%
Recent Research on Laser Therapy
There has been a remarkable amount of research conducted on laser therapy, with over 3,000 clinical studies published worldwide, including over 120 randomized, double-blind studies. Laser therapy is used in the United States to treat conditions of pain and inflammation, but international research is constantly breaking new ground, proving the clinical effectiveness of laser therapy for a wide variety of conditions. Lasers are even being used in hospice care in Moscow as “an analgesic, antioxidant, desensitizing, bio-stimulating, immuno-stimulating, immuno-correcting, detoxifying, vasodilative, anti-arrythmic, antibacterial, anti-hypoxic, anti-edematous, and anti-inflammatory therapy” (Apex Energetics).
Links
For additional technical and clinical information about laser therapy, check out these sites:
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For more information on laser therapy, please feel free to ask.
I am happy to discuss how we can integrate laser therapy into your overall health care.
