The Powerful Combination of Laser Therapy & Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is a common treatment for people with joint problems, whether they’re recovering from an acute injury or managing a chronic condition like arthritis or tendonitis. Many people will receive physical therapy or be given exercises to complete at home for everything from a broken finger to joint replacement surgery. While physical therapy helps people recover from injury and manage chronic diseases, physical therapy can be combined with laser therapy to improve outcomes. Keep reading to see how.

How Physical Therapy Works

Physical therapy is a type of care used to help ease pain and improve function and movement, improving quality of life. Physical therapists are trained to work with each individual to help them restore their regular activity following an injury or surgery and help preserve and restore range of motion of those with chronic joint challenges. They accomplish this through a personalized approach with specialized equipment, exercises, stretches, and treatment plans.

Physical therapy helps people recover from an injury and restore range of motion by stretching tight muscles to improve flexibility, strengthening core muscles to improve stability, and using target exercises to improve muscle function. In addition to exercises and stretches, a physical therapist might use additional techniques like ice and heat therapy and ultrasound to help relax or stimulate muscle tissue.

How Laser Therapy Works

Laser therapy is a type of photobiomodulation therapy that utilizes red light in specific wavelengths to stimulate the mitochondria of the body’s cells. Laser therapy uses red light in a concentrated laser beam to target a specific area and penetrate deeper into tissue.

Laser therapy has a number of effects on the body. By boosting the production of cellular energy, laser therapy temporarily increases circulation and helps resolve inflammation by increasing inflammatory mediators and reducing levels of harmful free radicals.

Laser therapy is a non-pharmacological treatment for pain management of both acute and chronic conditions. While many pain relieving medications only mask pain symptoms by blocking pain signals to the brain, laser therapy treats pain at the source and helps promote the natural healing processes in the body to resolve pain.

Combining Laser & Physical Therapy

Both laser therapy and physical therapy require multiple visits and a treatment plan that varies for each individual. However, they compliment each other nicely. As laser therapy helps repair damage and reduce inflammation, physical therapy can help strengthen muscle and improve flexibility and coordination.

Combining the power of physical and laser therapy helps achieve better outcomes, which for patients means a better recovery and improved quality of life. With the additional boost in natural healing processes from laser therapy, physical therapy exercises can be more effective. Laser therapy treatments also reduce pain and inflammation long-term for chronic conditions.

One concern with treatments like physical therapy and laser therapy is the motivation of the patient since there are multiple visits required. However, a clinic that can offer both treatments has an advantage as the patient only needs to make one appointment for both. Additionally, when these therapies are used together, patients experience positive outcomes faster, which can help motivate them to stick with their treatment plan.

Laser therapy and physical therapy are safe to combine and don’t interfere with each other. Most people experience no side effects from laser therapy, with few experiencing some temporary pain or lightheadedness. Laser therapy can be safely performed before or after a physical therapy appointment, depending on which option is best for the patient.

Learn & discover the power of laser therapy with in-person seminars hosted by Aspen Laser.

Aspen Laser Therapy Systems for Physical Therapy Clinics

Physical therapy treatments are customized uniquely to each person, and the same goes for laser therapy treatments. Aspen Laser offers the most versatile class IV laser therapy systems, including our new TRIWAVE laser, the Apex Laser Series. The Apex Laser features three healing wavelengths at 15 watts of power each for a combined total of 45 watts of power. Additionally, each wavelength can be operated separately or combined for the most customizable treatment options.

In addition to versatile laser settings, the Apex Laser features a full-color touchscreen to easily program and set treatment protocols unique for each patient. The Apex Laser also comes standard with a pedestal mobile cart to easily and safely bring the laser between exam rooms.

Learn more about the Apex Laser and get started on your clinic’s laser therapy services through the link below.