Laser Therapy 101
We’re excited to offer laser therapy at CAC! Keep reading to learn more.
Laser Therapy 101
You may have heard about laser therapy or maybe it was recommended for your pet. While laser therapy is not a new concept, several veterinary hospitals are incorporating laser therapy into their treatment offerings. Why? Because laser therapy has significant reported benefits like wound healing, pain management, and decrease in inflammation.
The first therapeutic laser was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002. At Clarendon Animal Care, we are proud to offer treatments from the Summus Class IV Therapy Laser which was cleared by the FDA in March 2005.
What is Laser Therapy?
Laser therapy, or “photobiomodulation,” is the use of specific wavelengths of light to create therapeutic effects to help accelerate tissue regeneration. These effects include improved healing time, pain reduction, increased circulation, and decreased swelling. Laser therapy can be used to aid in management of almost any "-itis" - or inflammatory condition, especially arthritis and other orthopedic and neurologic conditions, surgical incisions, and skin conditions. It is important to remember that laser therapy utilizes therapeutic lasers and not surgical lasers. The latter is typically used to cut or ablate tissue and requires the patient to go under anesthesia.
How Does Laser Therapy Work?
As mentioned above, laser therapy treatment uses specific wavelengths of light to cause photobiomodulation. Photobiomodulation occurs when light absorbed by the cells stimulate electrons and activates the cells to promote cellular repair. Laser energy increases circulation by drawing water, oxygen, and nutrients to the damaged cell area. This creates an optimal healing environment that reduces pain, inflammation, muscle spasm, and stiffness and leads to improved wound healing. Laser therapy can also be a great alternative to patients receiving chronic pain medication.
What Can My Pet and I Expect?
During laser therapy treatment, patients typically do not require sedation and the experience is usually uneventful. Patients often experience improvement after the first laser therapy session, however varying conditions may require several sessions (three to eight on average) for the treatment to be most effective. Treatment times will vary in length, but the duration of each session will be two to eight minutes for most conditions.
Is Laser Therapy Safe for Pets?
Laser therapy is exceptionally safe if performed correctly, using the proper settings and treatment durations. There is the potential for thermal burns if performed incorrectly, and we take special caution to protect our eyes as well as our patient's eyes (though typically they are not able to look at the light beam, so they do not need to wear "doggles").
Why Do We Recommend Laser Therapy?
Clarendon Animal Care has added laser therapy to our essential treatments because we want to provide a safe, painless, non-drug treatment option that will allow our patients to recover quickly while reducing pain effectively. During laser therapy treatment, our patients experience little or no pain sensation. At the most, patients will feel a mild warmth or tingling during treatment.
Interested? Have Questions?
If you are interested in receiving laser therapy for your pet or have questions, please send us an email at info@clarendonanimalcare.com. We look forward to helping you further!
