Laser Therapy

Laser has long been offered as a treatment option overseas, however is now becoming more widespread in Australia.

LASER therapy is popping up in mainstream media with athletes in cricket and AFL using laser as part of their injury rehabilitation.

Put simply, laser is a device which emits light. Low level laser therapy has a bio-stimulatory effect at a cellular level and it is widely used to assist in tissue healing and rehabilitation, and pain management.

Tendon conditions in particular are showing some good outcomes with laser treatment, such as tennis elbow and Achilles tendon problems, In vitro research studies have shown laser therapy for tendons can increase collagen production and suppress inflammation essentially speeding up the healing process.

Two types of LASER are available at Horizon:

  1. Class 3b LASER - This targets the more superficial cells in out skin layers. Skin ulceration, blocked ducts, healing incisions post surgery, superficial tendons in hands and feet.

  2. Class 4 LASER - This is a much more powerful LASER that can penetrate deeper injured structures like muscles, deep tendons and ligaments, joint arthritis. This LASER also has a powerful effect on stimulating blood flow to aid the healing process and warming tissues to assist in calming the ache and pain experienced in arthritic joints.

Over the past twenty years, there has been further research showing laser can improve tissue healing in other areas of the body, including ligaments, tendons and joints. It can be used in acute and chronic stages, and there have been some microscopic studies showing significant increase in cell metabolism and collagen production, essentially speeding up the healing process.

Conditions treated with laser

 

How laser therapy works

Laser for nipples?

Historically, laser has been used with post natal women to heal cracked or damaged nipples. A pilot study at King Edward Hospital showed lower reported pain levels and increase length of time to be able to continue breastfeeding. On average, women had pain relief and improvement after two or three sessions.

In Australia, laser treatment can only be provided by those who have undertaken further specialist training and qualifications. At Horizon, all of our Physiotherapists have completed the laser requirements to safely administer laser therapy. Please feel free to discuss with us whether laser may be appropriate for you.

FAQs

  • Laser can be used to treat injuries to tendons, ligaments and muscles. It can also assist in settling the affects of osteoarthritis and other reasons for joint pain.

  • Here at Horizon we have two types of LASER machines, one is a cold 3b LASER that can treat injuries close to the surface of the skin. The other is a class 4 LASER that can treat deeper injuries and provide a gentle warm in the tissues.

  • No. Therapeutic LASER works on healing the tissues below the skin surface at a deeper level.

  • A LASER treatment for injured soft tissue is a relatively quick treatment taking an average of 10 minutes or less per session depending on the injury size and location.