Cold Laser Therapy For Knees: Procedure, Benefits, & Side Effects

Cold laser therapy is a safe and effective treatment when used to treat knee pain and other conditions in the knee. The treatment can be used for acute or chronic pain relief, and the procedure is simple and easy to do in a clinic or at home.

Using cold laser therapy for knees and other pain in the body has become more and more popular in recent years because it offers a natural, drug-free way to deal with pain. If you’ve heard about this treatment option, but you’re not sure how it works or if it’s appropriate for your condition, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you’ll learn what cold laser therapy is, how it can be used to treat knee pain, and how to begin treatment.

How Does The Procedure Work?

During a cold laser therapy treatment, laser light penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the target tissue. The energy of the light stimulates cells to release proteins that promote healing.

The procedure itself is simple. The doctor will use the cold laser to penetrate the skin at specific points around your knee. The process can take 10 to 45 minutes, depending on the injury and how many treatments are needed., and you’ll typically need to come back for multiple sessions to get the most benefits from the treatment.

Does Cold Laser Therapy Really Work On Knee Issues?

Cold laser therapy is a type of light therapy that has been found to be effective in helping to reduce pain, help wounds heal faster, and treat chronic knee and other joint-related issues.

The effectiveness is due to the interaction between the photons in the light waves and the cells in your body. When they interact, chemical reactions are set off inside the cells. The cold laser energy works by stimulating these reactions so they can reduce inflammation and promote faster healing,  which ultimately leads to reduced pain for patients.

There are a number of studies on cold laser therapy for knee issues. One study found that cold laser therapy was effective in reducing pain and stiffness in patients with arthritis of the knee over a short period of time(1). Other studies have concentrated on the benefits of cold laser therapy for acute knee injuries, such as pain from being hit by a car(2).

In these studies, researchers have found that cold laser therapy is effective at reducing inflammation and swelling of injured tissues, which can lead to rapid recovery from injuries or quicker recovery after surgery.

This technology is not new, but it has only recently become available for use in homes as an FDA-cleared treatment.

Are There Side Effects & Risks?

Negative side effects are common with many medications and knee treatment options. However, one of the benefits of cold laser therapy to treat knee pain and other knee issues is that there are no known side effects

In terms of risks, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, lasers can be very powerful and can cause permanent eye damage, so it is important to ensure that the lasers never shine in your eyes. Some people wear protective goggles to prevent eye damage.

Second, laser therapy is not recommended for individuals with epilepsy, cancer, or for pregnant women.

Third, administering laser therapy is as much an art as it is a science. The laser device needs to be placed at just the right spot to maximize effectiveness. If the size of the emitting area of the device is larger, it is less critical to placement.  If the laser is positioned too far away from the affected area, the positive effects of the therapy may be reduced. The wavelengths of the laser also have a major impact on effectiveness. The LumaCare Duo utilizes 3 different wavelengths (905nm, 808nm, 670nm), each one carefully chosen to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment for a variety of conditions.

Alternative Treatment Options

There are a number of other treatment options available for knee pain and other knee problems, depending on the type and severity of the condition. A few common treatments include:

  • Muscle strengthening exercises
  • OTC medication for pain relief
  • Steroid injections
  • Heat and cold packs to help with pain and inflammation
  • Knee surgery

Always consult with your doctor before starting any new treatments.

When Should You Consult a Doctor?

Knee pain is a common complaint among adults. There may be a number of reasons for the knees to hurt, but it’s important that you consult your doctor if you experience extreme or sudden knee pain.

The pain could be the result of a previous injury or because of an underlying condition such as arthritis. Arthritis causes inflammation and swelling in the joints, which can cause pain and stiffness. But there are other reasons for knee pain as well, including ligament tears and meniscus tears which result from a trauma to the knee joint or other degenerative processes in the ligaments and menisci.

You should consult a doctor if you have had an injury in your knee, if you have continuous pain that does not go away, or if you think there may be a major underlying issue such as arthritis or a torn ligament. The doctor will be able to advise on the best way forward for treating and managing your condition.

How To Get Cold Laser Therapy Treatment For Your Knees

To treat your knees with cold laser therapy, you can either find a doctor locally who provides this type of treatment, or you can buy or rent a device and use it yourself.

Check with your local chiropractor to see if they offer cold laser therapy. They may refer to it as LLLT (Low Level Laser Therapy). Some doctor’s offices or physical therapy centers may offer this treatment as well. If your local chiropractor or doctor does not offer this type of treatment, you can request it and let them know that LumaCare offers a 30 day trial of the device, which would allow them to use the device on multiple patients, so it could be a win-win for you and for the chiropractor.

The benefit of going to an experienced medical professional to administer the treatment is that the efficacy could be much higher if they have experience and success treating your specific type of knee condition. As we mentioned earlier, the positioning of the device on the treatment site has a big impact on the effectiveness of the treatment.

However, if you can’t find any laser therapy practitioners locally or they don’t have experience with patients with the same condition, a self-treatment is also a viable option.

The biggest benefit of administering cold laser therapy yourself on your own knees is the time you save by not having to drive somewhere to get the treatment. Since it usually takes a number of sessions to see significant improvements on knee conditions, that commute time and treatment cost adds up quickly.

Additionally, with your own device, you can self-administer the therapy at any time and as frequently as you need, without having to work around anyone else’s schedule. This means you could get treatment more frequently and possibly see results in a shorter period of time.

Sources

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4909009/

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4331569/

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