Greenapple Chiropractic Sports & Wellness

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The Official Chiropractic Partner of the

2008 North Carolina Triathlon Series

laser video

Class IV High Level
Laser Therapy

Laser video #2

Come to the only Chiropractic office in North Carolina to offer The Class 4 K laser

Greenapple Sports and Wellness

The K Laser is an FDA approved Class IV laser. Early Class III therapeutic lasers are effective, but literally thousands of times less powerful than the new technology available today. Class III lasers are capable of penetration of only a few millimeters, while Class IV lasers can penetrate over 4 inches into the deep musculoskeletal tissue.

The new lasers have been researched in European countries for several years, and it has been discovered that specific wattage and modulation are now used for specific conditions, never before available until now. The perfect blend of chiropractic and laser therapy produces phenomenal results in extremely short periods of time.

The number of treatments required depends on the nature of the problem and the length of time the patient has been affected by it. Some problems are resolved with as little as one treatment. Chronic and/or deep-seated conditions may take as many as 10 treatments but most patients find relief much sooner. There are no known side effects from laser therapy. Though laser therapy is contraindicated for patients taking light sensitive drugs, use in areas injected by steroids within 7 days, and is not to be used over the Thyroid gland or in the eye. The laser works by creating vasodilatation, bringing in oxygen to the cells. It stimulates the lymphatic system, pulling edema and inflammation from the area. ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) production is stimulated in the cells helping them have the energy to function normally. The pain reflex is broken, offering immediate relief of pain. In other words, "it brings in the good stuff and gets rid of the bad stuff".

What is laser or light therapy?
The word "LASER" is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Laser Therapy or "photobiomodulation", is the use of specific wavelengths of light (red and near infrared) to create therapeutic effects. These effects include improved healing time, pain reduction, increased circulation and decreased swelling.

What is its history?
Credit for the development of laser theory is generally given to Albert Einstein. In his theory "Zur Quantum Theories der Strahlung", published in 1916, he first used the name stimulated emission.The effects of red light on cellular function have been known since 1880 however the clinical benefits were only discovered by accident during laser safety tests in 1967. In 1967, a few years after the first working laser was invented, Endre Mester in Semmelweis University Budapest, Hungary wanted to find out if laser light could cause cancer. He took some mice, shaved the hair off their backs, divided them into two groups and gave a laser treatment with a low-powered ruby laser to one group.They did not get cancer and to his surprise the shaved hair grew back more quickly on the treated group than the untreated group. That was how "laser biostimulation" was discovered.The first low-power lasers suitable for treating pain became available commercially in the late 1970's and ever since then, laser therapy has been widely utilized in Europe by physical therapists, nurses and doctors. Now, after FDA approval laser therapy is quickly gaining popularity in the USA.

Has effectiveness been demonstrated scientifically?
Yes. There are thousands of published studies demonstrating the clinical effectiveness of laser therapy. Among these, there are more than one hundred rigorously controlled, scientific studies that document the effectiveness of laser for many clinical conditions.

MORE LASER INFORMATION
FDA Approved Laser Comparisons
Clinical Case Studies

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Conditions Treated

- Soft Tissue Injuries
- Tendinopathies
- Back and Neck Pain
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Myofascical Trigger Points
- Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow)
- Sprains, Strains
- Repetitive Strain Injuries
- Chondromalacia Patellae
- Planter Fascitis
- Degenerative Joint Conditions
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Osteoarthritis
- Neurogenic Pain
- Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
- RSD/CRPS
- Post-traumatic Injury
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Fibromyalgia
- Diabetic Neuropathy
- Chronic Non-Healing Wounds
- Venous Ulcers
- Amputee Stumps
- Diabetic Foot Ulcers
- Burns

Benefits of Laser Therapy

- No Known Side Effects
- Accelerated Tissue Repair & Cell Growth
- Faster Wound Healing
- Reduced Fibrous Tissue Formation
- Anti-Inflammation
- Anti-Pain [Analgesic]
- Improved Vascular Activity
- Increased Metabolic Activity
- Improved Nerve Function
- Immunoregulation
- Trigger Points & Acupuncture Points

The K-Laser 6d

Class IV Therapeutic Laser

KNOWN BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LASER THERAPY- (LT)

Clinical studies and trials of laser therapy technology indicate the following beneficial effects of laser light therapy on tissues and cells:

1. Accelerated Tissue Repair And Cell Growth. Photons of light from lasers penetrate deeply into tissue and accelerate cellular reproduction and growth. The laser light increases the energy available to the cell so that the cell can take on nutrients faster and get rid of waste products. As a result of exposure to laser light, the cells of tendons, ligaments and muscles are repaired faster.

2. Faster Wound Healing. Laser light stimulates fibroblast development (fibroblasts are the building blocks of collagen, which is predominant in wound healing) in damaged tissue. Collagen is the essential protein required to replace old tissue or to repair tissue injuries. As a result, LT is effective on open wounds and burns.

3. Reduced Fibrous Tissue Formation. LT reduces the formation of scar tissue following tissue damage from cuts, scratches, burns or surgery.

4. Anti-Inflammation. Laser light therapy has an anti-edemic effect as it causes vasodilation, but also because it activates the lymphatic drainage system (drains swollen areas). As a result, there is a reduction in swelling caused by bruising or inflammation.

5. Anti-Pain (Analgesic). Laser therapy has a high beneficial effect on nerve cells which block pain transmitted by these cells to the brain and which decreases nerve sensitivity. Also, due to less inflammation, there is less edema and less pain. Another pain blocking mechanism involves the production of high levels of pain killing chemicals such as endorphins and enkephlins from the brain and adrenal gland.

6. Improved Vascular Activity. Laser light will significantly increase the formation of new capillaries in damaged tissue that speeds up the healing process, closes wounds quickly and reduces scar tissue. Additional benefits include acceleration of angiogenesis, which causes temporary vasodilatation, an increase in the diameter of blood vessels.

7. Increased Metabolic Activity. Laser therapy creates higher outputs of specific enzymes, greater oxygen and food particle loads for blood cells.

8. Improved Nerve Function. Slow recovery of nerve functions in damaged tissue can result in numbness and impaired limbs. Laser light will speed up the process of nerve cell reconnection and increase the amplitude of action potentials to optimize muscle action.

9. Immunoregulation. Laser light has a direct effect on immunity status by stimulation of immunoglobines and lymphocytes. LT is absorbed by chromophones (molecule enzymes) that react to laser light. The enzyme flavomono-nucleotide is activated and starts the production of ATP (adenosine-tri-phosphate), which is the major carrier of cell energy and the energy source for all chemical reactions in the cells.

10. Trigger Points and Acupuncture Points. Laser therapy stimulates muscle trigger points and acupuncture points on a non-invasive basis providing musculoskeletal pain relief.

What do the Experts Say About Laser Therapy?

1. “Today, we can safely say that therapeutic lasers have an important biological effect and a very positive one at that.”

2. “We believe that lasers have a tremendous and, as of yet, untapped potential in the field of healthcare.”

3. “Therapeutic lasers have no undesirable side effects in the hands of a reasonably qualified therapist.”

4. Lasers are “sterile, painless and often less expensive than methods already in use,” and do not have side effects as does pharmacotherapy (prescription drugs).

5. “Laser therapy of wounds is ideal, since it promotes healing and reduces pain at the same time.”

6. “Laser light increases the cell’s ATP energy.”

Jan Tuner and Lars Hode, “Laser Therapy: Clinical Practice and Scientific Background”, 2002.

How does laser therapy work?

First, you need to understand what lasers are.
Laser light is special. It is monochromatic - meaning it all has the same wavelength. Since all of the light waves have the same wavelength, they are all the same color.
Laser light is also coherent. All of the light waves are in phase with each other. The crests of all there little light waves are matched up, as are their valleys. They are like little soldiers marching in unison. Together the little soldiers can accomplish big things.
Look at the electromagnetic spectrum below. The two lasers we use have wavelengths of 635 nanometers (red) and 980 nanometers (infrared). The infrared laser is invisible.

When laser light interacts with the tissues of our body, many good things happen. For those of you who stayed awake in biology class in high school or college - the diagram below may make sense. But for the rest of us, here is basically what happens:
1. Laser light is absorbed by special parts of the cell membrane. This increases the permeability of the cell membrane - which means that good stuff (nutrition) gets into the cell and bad stuff (waste products) can get out.
2. Laser light also enhances the production of cellular energy. There are 70 trillion cells in the body, and in each of them are hundreds of mitochondria. The mitochondria produce a special chemical called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. When cells produce more ATP, they can function better.
3. The laser light from the K-Laser is also able to give significant pain reduction, through it's impact on the 'C' nerve fibers which carry the slow pain signals.

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