You may or may not have heard about cold light lasers being the “new” thing in alternative health care, but really laser therapy is not a new concept at all. Internationally cold light lasers have been used to treat many soft tissue injuries for nearly thirty years including neck pain, shoulder pain, “carpal tunnel” syndrome, stress injuries, tendonitis, arthritis, low back pain, sciatica, etc. Professional sports teams, where rapid healing is a must, have employed chiropractors and other professionals that utilize cold light laser in their treatments quite regularly in order to get injured players healed faster and healthy players to perform at their best. Probably the best-known example of this is the chiropractor for the United States Cycling team and Lance Armstrong that used cold light laser therapy on the cycling team during their historic eight straight year domination over the Tour d’France. Former U.S. Woman’s skater Melissa Gregory and members of the 3-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots also have their own encounters with the benefits of cold light laser.

So what exactly is this cold light laser and how does it work? Cold light lasers emit a low level spectrum of energy, which can be used to stimulate cells. This differs from “hot” lasers commonly used in surgical settings that are used to make incisions and cauterize wounds. Cold light lasers do not cut or burn the skin but rather stimulate the cells of your body to produce more energy but activating the mitochondrial aspects of human cells. Mitochondria are the part of the cell that produce a molecule known as ATP, which is the primary source of energy for muscular activity and cellular functions. The concept is very simple, the more energy a cell has, the faster that cell heals, and that results in a significant decrease in pain symptoms and wound healing times. The best part about cold light laser, after years and years of clinical testing, some even at the Mayo Clinic, there has still not been any reported accounts of serious side effects associated with cold light laser therapy!

I utilize cold light laser in all my treatment settings in some form or another because of the vast benefits. No company has performed more research and clinical trials than Erchonia Medical, the maker of the laser currently used in our office. Erchonia was the first to obtain FDA clearance for laser use in the reduction of neck and shoulder pain and have since shown laser benefits in studies concerning carpal tunnel, burn/wound healing, low back pain, tinnitus/hearing loss, capsular shoulder problems, bone healing, arthritic symptoms, and cartilage regeneration. There is even a current study investigating the use of cold light lasers in the reduction of late stage Parkinson’s Disease symptoms!

In closing I would like to share a personal experience I had in my career with a patient and the benefits of cold light laser joined with chiropractic. Roughly two years ago a patient got transferred to me from another doctor in the clinic at which I was working. This patient complained of left side neck pain and headaches. He also had a history of two separate stroke events, which had left him with limited functionality of his left hand. Basically as he explained it to me he could use his left hand to wave but if he put anything in that hand to carry it (say car keys for example) within a few steps it would hit the floor. Sadly he had learned to accept his disability as a permanent result of the strokes. I followed my normal protocol for neck pain at the time, adjusted the patient’s cervical (neck) spine, released any restricted muscles, and then “lasered” the patient over the area of treatment for about five minutes to decrease any inflammation and promote faster healing and decreased pain. He was sent upon his way and a next patient visit was scheduled for later that week.

When the patient returned for a follow up treatment, he rushed up to me and said the following, “doc, I’m not really sure what you did last visit, but lets please do it again because I noticed when I got home I looked down and realized I had carried my car keys all the way into the house with my left hand and that’s the first time in two years I have ever held anything in that hand like that.” Even I was amazed and somewhat skeptical but pursued the finding with a more advanced protocol. Again on the next few visits I adjusted the patient’s neck to remove any levels of interference, released any muscle restrictions, and utilized cold light laser over the patient’s left cervical spine. I added in little exercises to “drive” or stimulate the patient’s use of his left hand such as some fine motor activities where he was carefully picking up small objects and placing them in holes similar to what you would find on the table at a Cracker Barrel and squeezing spongy objects to represent the act of holding onto an object.

Right before I left that particular clinic for my own practice, I re-evaluated the patient’s progress and condition. I was amazed when he told me “doc, I just wanted to let you know that because of you I can now drive my car with only my left hand.” That is the type of experience that lives with you forever and I have heard many accounts of similar results from the use of cold light laser therapy.

If you have any questions concerning cold light laser or are interested in a free demo or consultation if chiropractic and laser can benefit your aliments please do not hesitate to call. Our doors are always open to help with any of your health questions or needs. The benefits of cold light laser therapies are well researched and can really change a person’s life!

Dr. Gratton can be reached by calling (903) 218-5353 or by email gratton_chiropractic@yahoo.com. His office is located in Kilgore at 1100 Stone Road, Suite 269.