Injury Archives - Dr Shawn

14/May/2024

In the world of sports and physical activity, injuries are an unwelcome yet inevitable part of the grind. The pursuit of recovery drives athletes and health enthusiasts to explore various treatments, among which laser therapy emerges as a beacon of innovation. This post dives into the mechanics, benefits, and potential of laser therapy for injury treatment, creating a guide tailored for athletes and those living an active lifestyle.

Introduction to Laser Therapy: A Brief Overview

Laser therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation (PBM), employs specific wavelengths of light to interact with tissue and is used to help accelerate the healing process. It can relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and increase the speed of tissue repair. This non-invasive approach has gained traction owing to its ability to provide pain relief without the side effects associated with medications and surgery.

Understanding the Mechanism: How Laser Therapy Works on Injuries

At the heart of laser therapy is its ability to initiate photobiological processes in the cells. When the cells absorb the light energy, it triggers a series of events that lead to increased ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production, the energy currency of the cell. This increased ATP production enhances cellular metabolism, promoting the repair and regeneration of damaged cells. Furthermore, laser therapy stimulates the lymphatic system, reducing edema and inflammation, and increases blood circulation to the affected area, facilitating the delivery of oxygen and nutrients vital for healing.

Benefits of Laser Therapy for Athletes and Health Enthusiasts

Reduces recovery time: Accelerated cell regeneration and increased blood flow help reduce recovery times, getting athletes back in action faster.
Non-invasive and safe: With no need for surgery or medication, laser therapy offers a risk-free approach to injury management.
Pain management: By reducing inflammation and stimulating the release of endorphins, laser therapy effectively manages pain without pharmaceuticals.
Versatility: It can be used to treat a wide range of injuries, including muscle strains, tendinitis, bursitis, and more.

The Future of Laser Therapy in Sports and Health

The future of laser therapy holds promise not only in treating injuries but also as a preventive measure and performance enhancer. Ongoing research explores its potential in upregulating gene expression related to muscle growth and endurance, suggesting that laser therapy might soon become a staple in athlete training regimens worldwide.

Frequently Asked Questions about Laser Therapy

Is laser therapy painful?
No, most patients report no sensation during treatment, and it’s entirely non-invasive.

How many sessions are required?
The number varies based on the injury’s severity, but improvements are often observed within a few treatments.

Can laser therapy be used alongside other treatments?
Absolutely, it’s often part of a comprehensive rehabilitation program.

Conclusion: Exploring the Way Forward

Laser therapy signifies a leap towards understanding and utilizing light’s healing properties. Its remarkable ability to accelerate recovery, coupled with an exemplary safety profile, makes it an indispensable tool in modern injury management. For athletes and health enthusiasts alike, staying informed about and receptive to innovative treatments like laser therapy means not just faster recovery, but also a more profound connection to the body’s intrinsic capacity to heal. As the landscape of sports medicine and health continues to evolve, laser therapy shines brightly on the horizon, heralding a new era of care grounded in the cutting-edge application of light.

For more articles on Laser Therapy Click Here

Studies on laser therapy Click Here

DoctorShawn

18/Sep/2023

If you’ve ever experienced a sports injury, car accident, or slip and fall, you know the pain and frustration it can cause. It can take weeks, months, or even years to fully recover from an injury, and sometimes traditional methods such as rest, ice, and medication are not enough. Fortunately, technology has evolved, and there are new treatments available to help accelerate the healing process. One of those treatments is laser therapy. If you’ve ever wondered how laser therapy works for injury recovery, then you’re in the right place. In this blog post, we’ll explore what laser therapy is, how it works, and its benefits.

What is Laser Therapy?

Laser therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy, cold laser, or photobiomodulation therapy, is a non-invasive treatment that uses light energy to stimulate the body’s natural healing process. The therapy involves the use of a low-level laser, which emits light at a specific wavelength that penetrates the skin and targets the affected area. Unlike conventional lasers used in surgery or cosmetic treatments, low-level lasers do not produce heat, so they’re safe and painless.

How does Laser Therapy Work?

Laser therapy works by stimulating the body’s cells to produce more energy. When the light energy from the laser penetrates the skin, it’s absorbed by the cells and converted into cellular energy. This energy is used to repair damaged tissues, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain. The light energy also activates the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that’s essential for cellular function. When cells have more ATP, they’re better equipped to carry out their functions and repair damaged tissues.

Benefits of Laser Therapy for Injury Recovery

Laser therapy has a multitude of benefits for injury recovery. The therapy helps to reduce inflammation, which is a common cause of pain and stiffness. By reducing inflammation, laser therapy can improve range of motion, decrease pain, and enhance overall mobility. Additionally, laser therapy stimulates the production of collagen, a protein that’s essential for tissue repair. By increasing collagen production, laser therapy can help speed up the healing process and improve tissue health.

Another benefit of laser therapy is the absence of side effects. Unlike medication or surgery, there are no adverse side effects associated with laser therapy. It’s safe, painless, and non-invasive. Moreover, the treatment is quick and easy, with most sessions lasting between 5-15 minutes. Patients can resume their normal activities immediately after treatment.

Fibromyalgia

Research on Laser for Sport Injury Recovery

Laser therapy has shown considerable promise in treating sports injuries. A study from the International Society for Laser Surgery and Medicine found that Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) was 65.9% effective in treating all sports injuries.

A SPIE Digital Library publication emphasized the effectiveness of Low-Intensity Laser Therapy in treating various musculoskeletal pathologies. Similarly, research from the Journal of Laser Applications suggested that athletes with sports-related injuries returned to their sports faster after treatment with low-energy lasers.

A triple-blind, sham-controlled study found that LLLT facilitated superficial wound healing, although results varied concerning its effectiveness in treating pain and restoring function in musculoskeletal injury or disease. A study on tendinopathy published on the Liebert Pub website reported benefits from low power laser sources in treating tendon and sports injuries.

Overall, these studies suggest that laser therapy, particularly LLLT, can be an effective treatment for sports injuries.

I Have found LLLT to be very effective in treating arthritis, tendonitis and other related injuries in as little as 5 treatments.

Research on Laser for Neurological Injury

A study published on the Wiley Online Library revealed that different wavelengths of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) could affect functional recovery in injured peripheral nerves and traumatic brain injury in mice. Another study showed that laser therapy had a positive influence on nerve regeneration, specifically the sciatic nerve in rats after injury.

Research published on Springer highlighted the efficacy of LLLT on neurosensory recovery after damage to the inferior alveolar nerve. Another research paper indicated the positive impact of low-intensity laser therapy on recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury. A Plos One journal article also corroborated these findings, suggesting that transcranial LLLT improved neurological performance in traumatic brain injury in mice.

Further studies have shown positive effects of LLLT on neuromuscular recovery after crush injury in rat sciatic nerve, neuropathic pain relief and function recovery in rats with chronic constriction injury, and skeletal muscle repair.

How to Get Laser Therapy for Injury Recovery

If you’re interested in laser therapy for injury recovery, the first step is to consult with a healthcare professional. A licensed and qualified practitioner can assess your condition and determine if laser therapy is the right option for you. The practitioner will also determine the optimal number of treatments necessary for your condition. Treatments are typically administered in a clinical setting by a qualified professional. The number of sessions can vary depending on the severity of the injury and the desired outcome.

Conclusion

Injury recovery can be a long and challenging process. Laser therapy can help make it faster, easier, and less painful. The therapy works by stimulating the body’s natural healing process, reducing inflammation, and promoting tissue repair. Benefits of laser therapy include pain relief, improved mobility, and faster recovery time. The therapy is safe, non-invasive, and has no side effects. If you’re interested in laser therapy for injury recovery, consult with a healthcare professional to determine if it’s the right option for you. Learn more about laser therapy for chronic pain HERE

References:

DoctorShawn

25/Jun/2021

Traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain that is the result of a head injury. Quality of life is greatly diminished for those living with a traumatic brain injury. Even fatal results can occur. As the quantity of study devoted to CBD develops, there is the rise in the query that whether CBD can help in treating brain injury or not. Currently, the research indicates that CBD possesses neuroprotective properties. Such effects can include mitigating the effect of head injuries.

A flexible and effective anti-inflammatory cannabinoid that has few to no adverse effects is known as cannabidiol or CBD. The number of conditions treatable with CBD increases daily with the introduction of fresh scientific information. There is emerging evidence that CBD is starting to be used as a treatment for severe traumatic brain injury.

TBI can happen to anyone who suffers from brain trauma, and it can affect every aspect of life.

What Do We Understand from Traumatic Brain Injury?

Any brain injury merits serious concern. The brain goes through a cascade of reactions after sustaining a significant injury. Inflammation, edema, and immunological activation are included in this list.

Though this is a usual and helpful set of reflexes in response to a break or fracture. Additional neurological damage might result from this set of events.

When brain cells die, the damage to the brain as a whole will soon follow. Common TBI patients include people who have served in the military, professional athletes, and victims of motor vehicle collisions. TBI can have enduring and crippling repercussions, and might manifest emotionally, physically, behaviorally, and socially.

A lot of the time, these impacts are life-altering. As well as cognitive deterioration and impaired motor function, depression and anxiety are common side effects. Severe symptoms among certain people with TBI can also result in seizures. Conventional medicine currently lacks effective treatments for minor TBI, which is an underreported and frequently misdiagnosed condition.

Scientific Evidence Which Says CBD is Effective for TBI

CBD is showing some evidence of usefulness in reducing some of the harmful effects of TBI, specifically in the areas of inflammation and neurological complications.

A paper published in Frontiers in Pharmacology claims that “The Endocannabinoid System Possesses Potentially Drugable Receptor and Enzyme Targets for the Treatment of Varying TBI Pathology.”

In addition, there are numerous studies which suggest that in combination with THC, CBD is neuroprotective, indicating that regular ingestion of cannabinoids reduces the likelihood of a catastrophic brain injury.

More and more research about TBI is becoming available with each passing year. A variety of research studies agree that the ECS plays a major role in the development of mental, bodily, and behavioral responses after a TBI.

Although further study is needed to produce precise protocols that may be accessible and recommended by mainstream medicine, some preliminary research has already been done. Each example is adding information to the outlook for the condition treated with cannabinoids.

Anecdotal Support for Using CBD as a Treatment for Brain Injury

It takes years for new scientific information to be studied and released. To draw a conclusion, you first must subject the drug being investigated, in this case CBD, to rigorous testing.

While scientific studies take time, evidence exists for the benefits of cannabis in treating brain injury based on anecdotes from patients.

CBD has the potential to improve the quality of life for people who have suffered a brain injury by allowing them to increase their quality of life.

Final Words

CBD’s brain-healing qualities are not yet fully understood and must be investigated further. Much research is being conducted regularly, and soon we will get a clearer understanding of the role of CBD in TBI. The current research suggests that CBD has some properties which can help increase quality of life in brain injury, but we cannot be sure how effective it is or if it has any side effects. We have to wait for more research to be conducted and results to be announced; only then can we be sure about how effective it is to use CBD as a treatment for brain injury.

About the author:

Sean Roberts is a writer by profession. He is a full time writer working with NY Marijuana Card, a leading clinic that provides medical marijuana recommendations. He aims at educating people about the medicinal use of cannabis https://nymarijuanacard.com/

The Power of Light: How Laser Therapy Works for Injuries