Cold Laser / Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)
The latest and most exciting development in the sciences today is fast proving to be a radically effective method of treating soft tissue injuries, chronic pain and the healing of wounds.
Known as low level laser therapy, LLLT, cold laser therapy or cold laser, this photochemical laser light treatment stimulates mitochondrial production of ATP, thus affecting the eukaryotic cells in the body.
Cold laser therapy is no a myth - to date over 1000 published laboratory studies and experiments have been performed with considerable success.
Proof of the effectiveness of cold laser therapy has been established in over 100 random, double-blind, clinical trials which tested the therapy on tendonitis, osteoarthritis, various sports injuries, diabetic foot, back and neck pain and venous ulcer wound healing.
It has been shown that LLLT substantially reduces muscular pain and inflammation and promotes the repair and recovery of body tissue in those areas where the laser light is concentrated.
For those people trying to quit smoking, low level laser therapy has also proved beneficial. In published results from two trials conducted by the NHS in Scotland, LLLT proved to be 10 times more effective than acupuncture, nicotine patches and gum and even hypnotherapy.
LLLT is being used mainly to treat sports injuries and joint conditions and apart from its effectiveness, is considered to be one of the safest therapies currently available.
But what exactly is low level laser therapy and how does it work? Well, LLLT is a treatment applied to an area of pain or a wound on the body that uses light emissions of either low intensity laser diodes or high intensity super luminous diodes anywhere from 250 milliwatts to 2000 milliwatts. This light source is placed directly on the skin so as to allow the photon energy to penetrate the tissue and is painless.
Low level laser therapy has proved effective in a number of reported Achilles heel injuries and in diabetic foot wound healing. The therapy has also proved to be successful in the reduction of oedema and inflammation and the re-establishment of arterial, venous and lymph microcirculation. Increased rates of ATP, RNA and DNA synthesis have also been noted.
Cold light therapy was first discovered by Endre Mester of Semmelweis University in 1967 when he performed a series of laser experiments on mice with skin cancer. After shaving the backs of a number of mice, he treated some of them with lasers and discovered that the hair on the treated mice grew back more quickly than those not treated.
The future looks bright for cold laser therapy and scientists are now testing other low level light applications on a number of other medical conditions.
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