Laser Therapy

Has your pets behaviour changed?

When was the last time your cat allowed you to give them a good groom?

Are you seeing a deterioration in your pet, and starting to run out of options to keep them well?

Is your pet already on medication and still suffering?

Increasing scientific evidence is emerging for the use of Cold Laser Therapy in Osteoarthritis and many other painful and debilitating conditions.

Have you considered Cold Laser Therapy as a pain relief option?

MLS® Class 4 Laser therapy is a safe, non-invasive cold laser treatment, which provides effective pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects to targeted areas of the body. Laser, by definition, is a focused beam of light, which in the case of therapeutic laser is in the near infra-red range and delivered into tissue with a very high peak power. These high power wavelengths of light are absorbed by tissue and have many beneficial therapeutic effects.

Although laser can’t cure chronic disease, laser light is absorbed by a variety of molecules within the body and has many beneficial therapeutic effects.

Inflammation is a complex process involving both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory proteins and enzymes.
Inflammation needs to occur for tissues to heal but during chronic inflammation the balance is shifted with pro-inflammatory proteins dominating and causing a viscous cycle of inflammation and pain.
Laser therapy can help to modulate this cycle, promoting anti-inflammatory proteins, and therefore reducing inflammation.

Within an arthritic joint, inflammation and cartilage degradation, lead to pain as the bones begin to rub over one another.
These signals are sent to the brain along the nervous system.
Over time as these signals constantly bombard the nervous system, the nerves themselves and the pain receptors begin to change, leading to persistent and severe pain signals. This process is called wind-up.
Laser therapy has been shown to slow nerve transmission, both providing an immediate analgesic effect and an increase in symptoms.

When we have a painful focus such as an arthritic joint, we protect and avoid the pain by altering our body position and gait.
This leads to abnormal muscular tension and contractures which over time can become painful in themselves and lead to a cycle of putting further tension on the joint - increased pain – more muscle tension.
The muscles eventually become dysfunctional and begin to waste away providing little support to the joint.
Therapeutic laser introduces a soothing heat into the tissues, which reduces muscle rigidity, increases blood and oxygen supply and helps the muscles to relax and recover.
By maintaining muscle health, the joints are supported and maintain mobility and pets can move more freely and comfortably.

Trigger points are tight knots within muscles that develop due to abnormal gait and body position.
They can cause a great deal of discomfort, muscle dysfunction and even referred pain.
Laser therapy can help to quickly release trigger points, reducing discomfort and improving gait and muscle function.

What is the evidence?

A key study compared the effectiveness of therapeutic laser treatment in combination with hydrotherapy to anti-inflammatory medication in sixteen arthritic Labradors*. The dogs were split into two groups:

Group A underwent physical therapy sessions including MLS® treatment and hydrotherapy.

Group B was treated with Carprofen at the manufacturers recommended dose. Assessment by the pet owner and technical expert were performed at day 0, 15 and 45.

The degree of lameness, and pain on palpation decreased in both groups, while no difference was observed between the groups.

Flexion-extension pain and trigger point number was reduced in the laser treated group only.

Both physical therapy and pharmacological therapy are able to improve the general clinical conditions of Osteoarthritis affected dogs. Physical therapy allows treatment with no side effects and can be proposed as a valid alternative to traditional pharmacological therapy.

If you would like to discuss your pets symptoms, find out about our cost effective courses of Therapeutic Laser Therapy or book in for treatment please contact our team at the Veterinary Hospital who will be delighted to help.

*Management of the articular degenerative disease of the dog: comparison of physical and pharmacological therapies S. Meggiolaro, S. Tention, G.M. De Benedictis. Energy For Health. 2016. Vol 17 page 22-25

Cold Laser Therapy

Has your pets behaviour changed?

Big enough to cope, small enough to care

Have you considered Cold Laser Therapy as a pain relief option?

Beneficial Therapeutic effects

What is the evidence?

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