We have been fortunate enough to add laser therapy to the list of rehabilitation modalities that we offer at Performance Spine and Sports Medicine. This is a tool that very few people have access to in the area. The laser that we have is a class IV high intensity laser from light force. The class IV laser allows you to get deep into injured tissue and achieve a thermal effect that the traditional class III cold laser does not. The thermal effect of the laser promotes increased blood flow to the injured tissue which helps to improve healing time. Deep Tissue Laser Therapy accelerates your body’s own natural healing process through photo-bio-stimulation.
Photo-bio-stimulation is the act of changing the condition of damaged tissue by stimulating cell metabolism which in turn improves the speed of tissue healing. This is achieved by photons from the laser head being emitted into deep tissue cells, which causes soothing warmth in the area. The photon molecules are absorbed by mitochondria in the injured cells. Mitochondria are the driving force behind energy production in a cell. Stimulation of mitochondria produces ATP, nitric oxide, and reactive oxygen species.
- Increased levels of ATP will help with energy transfer within the cell.
- Nitric oxide is a powerful vasodilator (which means it opens vessels to allow better blood flow) and an important cellular signaling molecule involved in many physiological processes in the human body.
- Reactive oxygen species have been shown to affect many important physiological pathways including the inflammatory response.
The production of these signaling molecules in concert has been shown to induce growth factor production and improve cell proliferation (healing).Laser therapy is effective in treating chronic conditions, acute conditions and post-surgical pain. This tool allows us to expedite the healing process which creates quicker recovery times and decreased time in pain and discomfort.
