Cold Laser

Frank Needham · 10-09-2010, 04:34 PM

I'm still having trouble with an injury to my left achilles tendon and am wanting to try cold laser on it. Nothing I've tried so far like stretching or rest has had much of an effect, it still gives me discomfort after any type of robust activity. I've read that cold laser can give very dramatic results in very short periods of time and am looking to hear what others' experiences might be on this. I'd also like to get feedback on what I should be asking in terms of qualifications from say, a Chiro, who uses this to treat patients. The aggravation this injury causes has gotten ridiculous and needs to be dealt with.

Garrett Smith · 10-09-2010, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Needham

I'm still having trouble with an injury to my left achilles tendon and am wanting to try cold laser on it. Nothing I've tried so far like stretching or rest has had much of an effect, it still gives me discomfort after any type of robust activity. I've read that cold laser can give very dramatic results in very short periods of time and am looking to hear what others' experiences might be on this. I'd also like to get feedback on what I should be asking in terms of qualifications from say, a Chiro, who uses this to treat patients. The aggravation this injury causes has gotten ridiculous and needs to be dealt with.

I use cold laser therapy every day in my practice. I watched it work well on a regular basis for a year before I bought the practice. Let me know of the places near you that you are considering, find out what kind of equipment they have, and I can give you my opinion.

Chad Cilli · 10-10-2010, 05:17 PM

Is it possible to buy your own decent cold laser? I know they sell some quality personal ultrasound and electrostim machines. All the docs I've found in Pittsburgh charge a fortune for cold laser, it seems like it'd be cheaper to buy your own.

Just like when I wanted to do prolo and the doc told me 8K a month for prolo, and they don't accept any insurances.

Garrett Smith · 10-10-2010, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad Cilli

Is it possible to buy your own decent cold laser? I know they sell some quality personal ultrasound and electrostim machines. All the docs I've found in Pittsburgh charge a fortune for cold laser, it seems like it'd be cheaper to buy your own.

Just like when I wanted to do prolo and the doc told me 8K a month for prolo, and they don't accept any insurances.

All depends on what you know and what you are willing to trust.

I have heard of a "Vetrolaser" that would appear to have all the functions necessary and is a nice price.

Chad Cilli · 10-12-2010, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garrett Smith

All depends on what you know and what you are willing to trust.

I have heard of a "Vetrolaser" that would appear to have all the functions necessary and is a nice price.

An equine and canine laser.... hmmm.... I'm tempted, genuinely tempted. Looks like you can pick up the 3 piece kit for under 900. That still beats a month of prolo by $7,100. Are there any reliable resources for learning to do this yourself? I've done my ultrasound at the PT. Being there 5 days a week, I guess they just decided it's easier to just let me do it. Electrostim is a bit hard to do sometimes depending where you have to place the electrodes. Can you burn/injure someone with a cold laser?

I have a laser pointer, what if I just turn that on and leave it focused on my foot for a few hours a day?

Garrett Smith · 10-12-2010, 02:24 PM

Honest answers.

If you aim a cold laser directly in your eye(s) long enough, you could cause some damage. With the power level of a Vetrolaser, you could not do tissue damage if you tried. EDIT: do not do cold laser over a pregnant uterus or a known or suspected cancerous site.

The weaker the laser, the less penetration depth. So a laser pointer (which I believe has to be less than 3mW, the infrared Vetrolaser is 200mW) could work if something was very superficial/shallow in nature or if you were using it to treat acupuncture points. I have a 5mW red laser I use just for this purpose.

Frank Needham · 10-11-2010, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad Cilli

Is it possible to buy your own decent cold laser? I know they sell some quality personal ultrasound and electrostim machines. All the docs I've found in Pittsburgh charge a fortune for cold laser, it seems like it'd be cheaper to buy your own.

Just like when I wanted to do prolo and the doc told me 8K a month for prolo, and they don't accept any insurances.

I wondered about that too. Did some quick poking around and decided, for myself, this was not a good option. It'd be just another thing that would be better left to a pro to handle, considering the prices and knowledge required to do a top notch job.

G, I've got a list of providers in the area who I'm going to survey later and I'll back here with what I find.