Cold laser therapyis a treatment that uses low levels of light from a laser to stimulate healing. It’s often used to treat back pain. The treatment is referred to as “cold” because the intensity is low enough not to generate heat; it doesn’t actually cool your tissues, though.
Back Problems Treated With Cold Laser Therapy
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Cold laser therapy is often called low-level laser therapy, or LLLT. It’s been around as a pain relief treatment for over 30 years.This approach is often used in chiropractic offices. It is non-invasive and seems to get good results for people.
Inconsistent Research
Numerous studies have been done on cold laser therapy, with mixed results. Because of the inconsistency, it’s still considered a “controversial” treatment. A 2012 meta-analysis found the treatment to be ineffective in a significant number of clinical trials, while many trials rated it as effective. The authors concluded that the treatment has merit when it comes to pain relief.
To decide whether this treatment is one you’d like to try, it’s important to consider its effect on your specific condition.
Cold Laser Therapy for Facet Joints
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Spinal and other joints can become inflamed due to injury orflare-upsof chronic conditions. Generally, in these cases, medication can be effective.
Medications commonly used for breakthrough pain include:
Cold laser therapy can be effective for joint disease if used at an energy level that inhibits inflammatory activity in the joint capsule.
A 2011 study in theJournal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapiescompared spinal manipulative therapy with low-level laser therapy for people with facet joint pain in their necks. The researchers found that both types of treatments were helpful, and when used in combination, the results were better.
Other alternative treatments may help reduce inflammation and joint pain, with a low risk of unwanted side effects.These include:ExerciseElectrical stimulationAcupunctureLaser acupuncture
Other alternative treatments may help reduce inflammation and joint pain, with a low risk of unwanted side effects.
These include:
What is Facet Joint Pain?
Low Level Laser Therapy for Herniated Disc Pain
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A herniated disccan cause significant pain and radiculopathy (pinched nerves).
Radiculopathy symptoms include:
The symptoms typically radiate down the arm or the leg.
Lower Back and Leg Pain From a Herniated Disc
Sometimes the body will reabsorb extruding disc material over the course of about a year. Some people use treatments like cold laser therapy to manage their pain in the meantime.
Other treatments for herniated disc treatment include chiropractic care or epidural steroid injections, which can be combined with each other and with LLLT.
In a general review on cold laser therapy, theCochrane Back and Neck Groupconcluded that although no side effects were reported, they couldn’t find enough evidence that this treatment works for non-specific low back pain to recommend it.
A Word From Verywell
Frequently Asked QuestionsCold laser therapy uses low levels of light from a laser to heal tissue. Also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), the noninvasive treatment appears to inhibit inflammatory activity to relieve pain.The treatment isn’t actually cold. It gets its name because low levels of light do not produce heat.A cold laser therapy session lasts between 3 and 5 minutes. Most people do not experience pain relief from cold laser treatment after the first few session. It can take between eight and 30 sessions to know if it is effective.Cold laser therapy is typically performed at least twice a week and up to four times a week. It can take several treatments before you feel any relief.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cold laser therapy uses low levels of light from a laser to heal tissue. Also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), the noninvasive treatment appears to inhibit inflammatory activity to relieve pain.The treatment isn’t actually cold. It gets its name because low levels of light do not produce heat.
Cold laser therapy uses low levels of light from a laser to heal tissue. Also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), the noninvasive treatment appears to inhibit inflammatory activity to relieve pain.
The treatment isn’t actually cold. It gets its name because low levels of light do not produce heat.
A cold laser therapy session lasts between 3 and 5 minutes. Most people do not experience pain relief from cold laser treatment after the first few session. It can take between eight and 30 sessions to know if it is effective.
Cold laser therapy is typically performed at least twice a week and up to four times a week. It can take several treatments before you feel any relief.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Lee YC.Effect and treatment of chronic pain in inflammatory arthritis.Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2013;15(1):300.
Saayman L, Hay C, Abrahamse H.Chiropractic manipulative therapy and low-level laser therapy in the management of cervical facet dysfunction: a randomized controlled study.J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2011;34(3):153-63.
Childress MA, Becker BA.Nonoperative management of cervical radiculopathy.Am Fam Physician.2016 May 1;93(9):746-754.
Huang Z, Ma J, Chen J, Shen B, Pei F, Kraus VB.The effectiveness of low-level laser therapy for nonspecific chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Arthritis Res Ther. 2015;17:360.
Takahashi H, Okuni I, Ushigome N, et al.Low level laser therapy for patients with cervical disk hernia.Laser Ther. 2012;21(3):193–197. doi:10.5978/islsm.12-OR-10
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