While chiropractic care is the cornerstone of what we do, sometimes it’s necessary to get more healing help at the source of pain. That’s where laser therapy is beneficial. Laser therapy stimulates the cells and tissues in the area where healing is needed. The laser kick-starts the healing process locally.
At Back to Balance Chiropractic & Family Wellness, we offer this modern treatment that can be used on different areas of the body. These include the wrist, shoulder, ankle, knee, hip, etc.
Conditions That Laser Can Address
At our practice, patients have gotten great results with laser therapy. Here are some of the many conditions that could benefit:
- Arthritis
- Bursitis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
- Knee pain
- Neuropathy
- Tennis elbow/Golfer’s elbow
- Plantar fasciitis
- Ankle pain
- Muscle strain
- Spinal stenosis
A Patient Success Story
One of our patients had been wearing a wrist brace that her doctor prescribed to her for persistent wrist pain. Wanting to give laser therapy a try, she had one session at our practice. Although skeptical for the next day or so, she called the practice and said, “My pain is gone!” This patient came back wanting to have another laser session to see what would happen. After this second treatment, Dr. Spencer checked in on her a few days later. She told him she was no longer wearing her brace and had no pain!
How Many Sessions Are Needed?
For an acute issue, we typically recommend six visits for your body to respond and, hopefully, resolve the issue. Some people experience pain relief after just one session, while others notice the difference after three of four. The more acute an issue, the quicker it will typically resolve. It’s important to know that as everyone responds differently to laser therapy, we can’t guarantee results. We have seen many patients get excellent outcomes, though!
We recommend patients wait a day between sessions because the light energy from the therapy is still working deep in the affected tissues for 24-48 hours.
The laser we use comes pre-programmed with different settings, so Dr. Spencer can choose back pain, for example, and focus the laser on the back or apply the laser to the trigger point in the muscle. If he believes laser therapy can benefit a patient, he will recommend they try it.
A Complement to Chiropractic
Laser therapy is a terrific complement to chiropractic care. Typically, patients first get adjusted and then receive a laser treatment. You can get the therapy comfortably seated or lying down. Dr. Spencer wants to make sure you are comfortable for the laser therapy as it takes a few minutes in one position. We can be creative if necessary to find a comfortable position for you! Some patients first receive laser therapy before getting adjusted, if necessary.
You don’t have to be a chiropractic patient, however, to get laser therapy at Back to Balance Chiropractic & Family Wellness. Some patients come in and take advantage of it as a stand-alone service. Our practice is the only chiropractic office within 25 miles that offers robotic Class IV laser therapy.