KNEE PAIN. CAN COLD LASER HELP?

Laser Therapy for Knee pain is becoming well known within the medical and allied health community. Approximately 15 – 20% of the population is inflicted with knee pain and surprisingly more women complain of knee pain than men

There are a number of causes of knee pain which can often make diagnosis difficult without imaging, but some presentations of knee pain are easily identified on clinical examination. The most common causes of knee pain are meniscus tears and osteoarthritis within the knee joint.

It is no wonder we experience knee pain. It is the largest joint in the body and can carry up 346% of your body weight when walking downstairs. Did you know if you run, you can also put around 11 x your body weight into your knees?

We know that physical activity is good for your knees as it promotes circulation within the fluid of the knee joint and strengthens the muscles and ligaments around the joint. However, if you have persistent knee pain, you know that exercise is the last thing you feel like doing.

Knee pain can be completely debilitating and affect our capacity to work or just live a normal life.

An emerging concept for the management of acute and chronic knee pain is the use of cold laser therapy or LLLT.

BENEFITS OF COLD LASER THERAPY FOR KNEE PAIN:

IMPROVES BLOOD CIRCULATION TO THE KNEE JOINT

ANALGESIC EFFECT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY

REDUCES INFLAMMATION WITHIN THE KNEE JOINT

STIMULATES HEALING OF DAMAGED TISSUE A THE CELLULAR LEVEL –  INCLUDING CARTILAGE

INCREASE THE JOINT SPACE WIDTH BY UP TO 2mm OVER A PERIOD OF 8 WEEKS

DECREASE MUSCLE SPASM AROUND THE KNEE JOINT

IMPROVED PASSIVE and ACTIVE KNEE RANGE OF MOVEMENT

 

What is cold laser therapy?

Cold laser therapy is a form of light energy that uses low levels of energy or photons to penetrate deep into painful and inflamed tissues. The energy leads to chemical changes within the injured cells and allows them to repair, and recover. This can also bring analgesic effects which can be seen immediately after the laser hits the tissues.

How does cold laser help with knee pain?

Cold laser will bring immediate pain relief in the knee. Within 12 hours there is a reduction of swelling and inflammation and following a course of treatments, it has been proven to increase the joint space of the knee by up to 2mm. When you are suffering from meniscus or knee osteoarthritis this would be a huge increase in the pressure within the joint.

A study by Nambi et al ‘Radiological and Biochemical effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in chronic arthritis’ 2017, demonstrated the analgesic and biomechanical effects of cold laser in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis. The objective of the study was to compare the active laser group with placebo laser group over a period of 4 weeks, in conjunction with an exercise program and the use of kineso taping of the knee. The results were conclusive that after 4 and 8 weeks, the active laser group showed a significant difference in the measurements of the knee joint space. There was also an improvement in the measurement of overall cartilage thickness through the biomechanical changes stimulated by the cold laser.

 

How much does it cost?

If you have Chiropractic coverage for your health fund, you will be able to use your health fund for your laser treatment at Bodycode Integrative Wellbeing. If you have an Enhanced Primary Care plan, you are also able to be referred for laser under Chiropractic via Medicare for up to 5 treatments. This would be referred to us via your GP

Initial Consultation (40 mins)	$130.00	Health fund eligible
Acute Cold Laser (20 mins)	$75.00	Health fund eligible
Follow up Laser (10 mins)	$45.00	Health fund eligible

 

How many treatments would I need?

There is a standard rule in cold laser for the acute phase called the decade rule. This means you would need 1 treatment per 10 years of life to reach what we call the ‘loading dose’. This is the point where you will have complete pain relief. Once this point is reached, the dose of the laser is lowered and we begin the healing phase of treatment. Depending on your complaint, this could be anywhere from 4 – 20 treatments.

Will I need to keep coming for laser?

If you have a chronic knee complaint, it is likely that you would need top-up or follow-up laser treatments every month. This is to ensure the tissue healing continues and your pain is kept under control. For new and acute knee complaints, you most like won’t require any further laser treatments once you have completed your initial course

How do I book in?

If you would like to chat more, we offer a complimentary discussion of the laser therapy and you book this here, or you can go ahead and book your initial treatment here too. We offer cold laser for other complaints too and is not just limited to knee pain. We offer cold laser for shoulder pain, hip pain, neck pain, back pain and even soft tissue complaints such as tennis elbow, carpal tunnel or plantar 

https://bodycodewellbeing.com.au/book-discovery-session/