Has anyone tried a therapeutic laser for knee or ankle injuries. I had a bad ankle sprain a couple years ago and had to have surgery to smooth the cartilage back out. Unfortunately, the tissue didn’t repair completely and I have pretty bad pain still. I have had a few cortisone injections, which seem to help a little bit, but not for very long. I really don’t want to continue the injections and am looking into some other options. I work in the animal health industry and call on small animal veterinarians. Laser therapy has become very popular for managing pain in dogs. It’s being used for osteoarthritis, wound healing, and as a way to speed up recovery from surgery. I have to think that it would have some benefit. Any experiences out there? Thanks!
You will find people “claiming” it helps, however there are very limited independent research studies supporting Laser Therapy effectiveness in the Physical Therapy World. With that being said, if it was between trying Laser or having surgery, I would give Laser a try.
Make sure that you are addressing all accessory stabilizing muscles from the hip down. It wont help the damage done at the ankle or the knee, but it will help lessen the forces through them.
Good Luck
It was part of the agenda that seemed to help my knee (patella issue). Combined with ultrasound,stim, and massage something was working. When i missed an appointment I could tell.
No evidence to prove if it was the laser or not though.
sorry to bring this thread back to life, but this was the only thread I could find on laser therapy. Was curious to hear more about it. What kind of laser therapy did you have for your injury: cold, hot, low level, etc.
I had a massage today for some upper back issues and she recommended a chiropractor that does ‘high power laser therapy’. First I’d heard of it, though I did find some other references online.
I had “cold laser therapy” for a severe, chronic ITB issue and it was the only thing that helped it. This was after many months of rest, stretching, strengthening, ultrasound, accupuncture, massage… everything that i could think of (short of surgery.)
It took about four treatments to really get things turned around. Now, I go back about two or three times per year during periods of particularly intense training. Seriously, I had reached the point where I thought I might never run again!
I will say this – my chiropractor is NOT the type to keep a patient coming back if a treatment is not working. Some doctors/chiros/PTs will string people along – not this guy. Be sure you have someone you can trust.
You won’t feel much of anything during the treatment, maybe a little local soreness over the next two or three days. I highly recommend it!
Ray
This thread needs to be brought back again, I just wrote an article about 2 injuries I had, Cold Laser can be miraculous.
http://www.aintdoneyet.net/blog/11/a-knee-tailbone-and-flashlight
I had laser therapy from a vet friend of mine years ago. I had an achilles injury where the sheath around the tendon had become detached. For a year I nursed it but it just wouldn’t completely heal. My buddy said hea had this laser and I should give it a try. I thought it couldn’t hurt so I went ahead and did it. It was strange. Everywhere he shined the laser that was injured felt warm and areeas around the injury flet nothing at all. A few weeks later I was all healed up. I don’t know if it was a placebo effect or what. It was free so it was definitely worth the price.