If you have a focused point of pain such as disc pain, bursitis, tendonitis, or plantar fasciitis, we may have the solution. Hello, Doc G here. I want to share with you the story of how Class IV laser has personally helped me.
In early 2015, I hurt my right shoulder doing something stupid in the gym. We’ll skip those details, but the problem with me having a hurt shoulder is that I have to use my shoulder all day long, doing the manual therapies standard to this profession. Specifically, manipulating the lower back requires a lot of shoulder “oomph.”
And it just wasn’t getting better. The cumulative stress of the job was adding up faster than the rate of repair.
I pride myself on being “evidence-based” in the way I practice. I had been reading and researching the efficacy of Class IV lasers for a couple of years, but was reluctant to invest in one for several reasons. For one, I wanted to see more research. Also, lasers are SUPER EXPENSIVE. I didn’t want to invest until I was sure it was a good investment.
As it turns out, the last year or so has been fruitful on the research front. Specifically, two papers on lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) and plantar fasciitis showed that laser treatment should now be considered the treatment of choice for these conditions.
Anyway–back to my shoulder. I contacted LiteCure, one of the leading companies in laser research and therapeutic laser development. I had an in-office demo scheduled at the last possible minute. I didn’t have any patients in the building at the time of the demo. We were at lunch. So I volunteered to have my shoulder treated. I didn’t have much confidence that one treatment would be effective. Frankly, I was starting to worry if I was going to need surgery.
The next day, I woke up. Sleeping on my “bad” shoulder. With zero pain. Keep in mind that the pain was waking me up if I got in the wrong position, and it had been for months.
Then I came to the office and treated patients all day. We saw 23 people that day, which is average. My shoulder got lots of use—only a tiny tweak by the end of the day.
So I bought the laser. I treated myself several more times and made a full recovery. I’ve also never had a problem with that shoulder (although I’ve had to use it on an elbow here and there).
There are only a few of these units in the city. One resides at the Houston Texans’ training facility.
The best part? The process itself is painless. You experience a soothing warmth during treatment. However, what’s happening inside your tissues over the 48 hours that follow can be miraculous.
Here’s a short video that discusses how the laser works.
If you’ve been nursing an injury and hoping it would heal on its own, you should know that it often doesn’t. The problem with connective tissue injuries is that these tissues don’t have a strong direct blood supply. Blood is needed to get tissues to heal. Often, the cumulative stress of daily activities leads to microtraumas that occur faster than the tissue can heal, especially after an initial injury.
Say you have tendinitis in your elbow that started with a minor injury. Often, these problems don’t resolve because the tendon is used daily as we go through the motions of life. Grip strength is affected. Life gets more complicated as you avoid doing things that you usually do every day.
The laser works by increasing the speed of healing by enhancing the supply of fuel that your cells use to perform all their functions, including the repair of injuries. The repair rate can then exceed the micro-trauma rate. Your pain goes away, even after other soft tissue interventions have failed. Not everyone is a candidate for treatment, but we’re happy to schedule a free consultation to determine if you qualify. We’ll offer one complimentary session as part of the consultation, allowing you to make an informed decision from there. No pressure — we only want people to spend the money who will see the benefit. We offer discounted packages and single sessions. 832-203-5884.