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Lasers Becoming Key Therapy in Treating Pain from Sports Injuries

March 23, 2005 Murrieta, CA—Sports teams of all varieties increasingly rely on a new form of treatment to keep players in the game and off the sidelines. From baseball’s Matt Williams to the New England Patriots to the US Olympic Team, cold laser therapy has become a staple treatment used to keep athletes healthy.

For the past two seasons, the New England Patriots have relied on the Microlight 830Laser to reduce the amount of time an injury keeps a player sidelined. According to Ellen Spicuzza a team nurse, at least seven players were treated prior to last month’s Superbowl and two would not have played without laser therapy. "No question it (laser) expedites healing of their (Patriots) sprains, strains, tendonitis and inflammations.

After trying the 830Laser throughout 2003, the US Olympic Committee announced in January 2004 that it had approved the use of the 830Laser as a therapy for injuries on US Olympic athletes. Olympic athletes have experienced significant pain relief and increased range of motion from laser therapy with the 830Laser.

Former Arizona Diamondback and World Series Champion, Matt Williams was one of the first professional athletes to benefit from 830Laser therapy. He said, “This revolutionary laser technology is changing the way I and many other players treat injuries and chronic pain.”

Cold laser therapy uses light to stimulate the body’s natural healing processes. A low level laser therapy device produces a beam of light applied over the injured area to stimulate healing. There is no pain associated with the treatment. Once the light penetrates the injured area it works on several fronts to stimulate the healing process and provide relief of muscular and joint pain.

Cold laser treatment for physical therapy does four things to speed the healing process:

1. Reduces pain.
2. Reduces inflammation.
3. Increases tissue healing.
4. Increases tissue strength.

Reduced Pain

Many athletes, depending on the type of injury, will see immediate results from cold laser therapy but most injuries take from two to nine treatments to see complete results. The 830Laser reduces pain by increasing endorphin levels in the tissues.

Reduced Inflammation

Most acute inflammatory conditions respond immediately to 830Laser treatment. The patented wavelength of 830nm is capable of penetrating up to two inches beneath the skin surface through water, blood, and fat with minimal absorption. Laser therapy does two things below the skin surface to reduce inflammation:

1. Stimulates histamine, nitric-oxide (NO) and serotonin to create a non-thermal vasodilation to "turn on the faucet".
2. Stimulates the lymphatic system to help remove waste products and cellular debris from the environment of the injured tissue to "open the drain".

Increase Tissue Healing

830laser therapy not only helps damaged tissues and wounds heal faster, it also makes them stronger and less vulnerable to re-injury. The 830Laser promotes angiogenesis (creation of new blood and lymphatic capillaries) to the injured tissues which aide in speeding up the healing process. Some studies show an increase of 40% or more.

Increased Tissue Strength

The 830 Laser is being embraced by professional athletes due to its ability to return injured tissue back to its original state making it an important tool for injury rehabilitation. Studies show that injured tissues treated with the laser are markedly stronger after recovery than with natural healing alone. Collagen synthesis and fibroblast activity are both increased by the 830Laser.

The 830Laser is a revolutionary piece of physical therapy equipment that has become an important means of providing treatment of such common sports injuries as sprained ankles, knee pain and neck and shoulder pain.