More About Cold Laser Therapy
What Is Cold Laser Therapy?
Cold laser therapy is also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), low-power laser therapy (LPLT), soft laser biostimulator and phot biomodulation. It can deliver non-thermal photons of light to the body to help heal injured cells.
Generally, surgical lasers used to destroy tumors tend to heat the tissue. The therapy is called “cold” because the low levels of light aren’t enough to heat your body’s tissue.
It employs the light with a wavelength in the red to near-infrared region of the spectrum. These wavelengths have the ability to penetrate the skin and soft or hard tissues.
How Does Cold Laser Therapy Work?
When you see the hand-held device, it looks like a flashlight. During the application, clinicians hold the cold laser device directly above the target area being treated. The time the device is used can be anywhere from several seconds to several minutes.
The period of time for an application depends on the medical need and the size of the area the clinician treats. The device uses non-thermal photons of light that penetrate two to five centimeters below three layers of skin.
The light travels past the dermis, epidermis, and subcutaneous tissue layers. The red light therapy reacts with the tissue targeted and causes the damaged cells to begin to regenerate.
These are the most common conditions treated by cold laser or red light therapy: