WHAT IS COLD LASER THERAPY.

WHAT IS COLD LASER THERAPY.

Therapeutic Lasers were accidentally discovered in 1967 in Budapest, when, as a result of laser treatment in the laboratory, hair regrowth was witnessed as a side effect.

Soon after there was reproducible proof that Cold Laser treatment could relieve pain, and this swiftly led to the advancement and refinement of Cold Lasers and the beginnings of a new method of treatment, called Cold Laser Therapy, or Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), now more widely known as Photobiomodulation (PBM).

Cold (or Low Level) Lasers are very different to those used in surgery, (considered “hot” lasers), because hot lasers cut skin and cauterize blood vessels allowing surgical precision.

Low Level Lasers emit pencil-like beams of electro-magnetic waves of a single frequency and defined wavelength.

With Cold Laser Therapy there is nothing invasive, no bleeding, and no pain.

Although the acronym LASER is used, Cold Laser Therapy is extremely safe, and since 1967 there have been no recorded side effects or adverse outcomes.

How does Cold Laser Therapy work?

When particles of red and infrared light are absorbed by your internal tissues, the major effect is on the mitochondria, the power source inside your cells.

Besides being extremely effective at reducing and eliminating pain and inflammation, in the last few years the scope of treatment using Cold Lasers has broadened.     It has now been realised that Cold Laser Therapy can also assist with :-

• Traumatic brain injury
• Stroke
• Degenerative central nervous system disease
• Spinal cord injury
• Peripheral nerve problems
• Depression and anxiety
• Cognitive impairment

Photobiomodulation Therapy’s Effect On A Cell

PBM, which is red or near infrared light, stimulates the cell’s mitochondria to produce:

1. NO (Nitric Oxide) a signalling molecule that
   • regulates glucose uptake and metabolism
   • enhances oxidative phosphorylation – ADP to ATP

2. ATP provides energy for the cell
3. ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) facilitates induction of transcription factors

How does Cold Laser Therapy do this?

Mainly by supporting the mitochondria inside your sick (stressed or inflamed) cells.

Mitochondria are considered the “powerhouse of the cell,” generating most of the energy in your body in the form of ATP (a naturally occurring chemical called Adenosine Triphosphate).

ATP is your body’s foremost source of cellular fuel.    You constantly use it, and your brain needs it to function properly.   Proper mitochondrial function and ATP production is critical for neuroprotection, cognitive enhancement, and prevention or alleviation of several neurological and mental disorders.

Your mitochondria contain photoacceptors that absorb photons from light and convert them into ATP.

By stimulating mitochondria and thus producing more ATP, photobiomodulation gives cells extra ATP energy to work better, thereby allowing them to heal and repair themselves.

So basically, we can say that two main outcomes of Photobiomodulation are:

• Reduced inflammation
• Reduced pain by stimulating our body’s opioids (natural pain relievers)