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Laser Therapy - Part 3
In the last twelve years since the establishment of the North American Association for Laser Therapy, a preponderance of published scientific evidence is now available for review supporting the therapeutic value of this exciting new technology. In addition, with the thousands of practitioners around the world utilizing it with their patients on a daily basis and receiving positive feedback, the question should no longer be, "Does it work?" but instead, "How can I best utilize this new technology?" And today, with the recent FDA approval of the more powerful Class IV laser, I continue to find new answers to that question. In the past seven months, after personally treating hundreds of patients suffering from a wide variety of ailments, I am no longer surprised by the positive results that I am seeing, in fact, I've come to expect it. On the other hand, I also realize that it is just another tool that we can utilize to help our patients; it is truly not a panacea for every problem. Everything has its own limitations, and laser therapy is no exception. For example, chronic, longstanding conditions will often require several treatments before any positive results are seen; and in some cases, the pain may actually get slightly worse before any improvement is made, as the tissue begins to heal. A second example would be partially torn or stretched ligaments. While I have witnessed phenomenal results after treating damaged knee and other joint ligaments, if the patient re-injures it before it is completely healed, a return to lameness is expected. At any point, if the ligament sustains a complete tear, the only hope for repair is surgery; although the laser can still be employed throughout the rehabilitation, aiding the speed of recovery. |