Why include Laser in your treatment Plan?

Adding light energy to injured areas jumpstarts healing, and shortens healing times. It is effective following acute trauma, as well as slow to heal and chronic injuries. It stimulates and accelerates the healing process and prevents the development of adhesions which can occur when healing is slow or delayed.

Our bodies have light receptors, situated within cells, which are able to absorb light energy of specific wavelengths to stimulate cell function… very helpful when the body’s normal reaction to injury and disease is to depress function. For best results, it is used throughout the healing process. Laser also decreases pain, improves mobility and sleep, and reduces the requirement for pain and anti-inflammatory medications.

Physiotherapy

It is not necessary to have physiotherapy to access laser therapy; but it is a good way to start – and our best recommendation for your care. For all muscle and joint pain conditions, the site of pain does not always match the cause of pain. A physiotherapy assessment confirms the appropriateness of laser as well as best application sites and protocols. An alternative to physiotherapy oversight is assessment by a nurse practitioner. This is particularly relevant for those who are seeking care for other than muscle and joint pain conditions; e.g. gout, lymphedema or post-herpetic neuritis (shingles).

Why 10 lasers?

Based on the accumulated statistics from many Bioflex users, 10 is the average number of treatments a client requires to meet treatment objectives. Long-standing and degenerative conditions require an average of 20 treatments, in our experience. Hence, a 10 treatment package. It seems to be the best offering, considering that some clients will require more than one package.

A typical treatment plan starts with 3 lasers a week, which can be on successive days. This takes advantage of the cumulative benefits of laser, and allows for early improvements to be noticed. After the early concentration of laser, treatments drop off to twice a week, once a week and less frequently…depending upon your response to treatment.

Stay the course!

It is highly recommended that you complete your treatment plan. Laser is most beneficial when it is applied throughout the active healing stages, typically 4 to 8 weeks, depending upon the type of tissue injured, e.g muscle, ligament, bone etc. Degenerative and nerve related injuries may take even longer, or benefit from maintenance laser following and active treatment plan. We urge you to stay the course, because your condition can relapse when treatment is discontinued before the active healing stages are completed.

Safety and Treatment Precautions.

Low intensity laser is a very safe treatment option, with only clear danger associated with direct application of the laser probe to the eye. It is for this reason that you use eye shields when the laser probe is being used. It is customary to avoid the lower abdomen and back during first three months of pregnancy, the thyroid and sites of known cancer, but research is not clear in these situations. Some medications increase sensitivity to laser, but are not in themselves contra-indications.

We NEED your input to progress treatment protocols!

Responsiveness to laser is an individual thing, similar to an individual’s response to sunlight – tanning or burning. Our laser techs will ask you before the start of each treatment how you felt after preceding treatment. If we overstimulate, you will experience a temporary sensation of increased sensitivity and possibly pain. About 10% of clients will experience immediate review and their treatment protocol remains unchanged. No change following treatment is harder to interpret…usually we will repeat the treatment once before nudging up the treatment protocol.

When you’re more sore after treatment…

we see this as a sign your body is responding to treatment….we’ve stirred up the inflammatory process. Generally, patients describe feeling better after 12 to 18 hours. This is important information to give us because it may be necessary to adjust your treatment protocol. If you are more sore, ice and tylenol are recommended. If you are really concerned, you may contact us at info@monasteryhealth.com or call the clinic at 709-757-3313.

If you should find you have more pain following treatment, use cold packs and mild pain medication, such as tylenol, to help settle the inflammatory response.

Massage

Finally, massage enhances the effect of laser by improving circulation and lymph drainage in the area. If there are areas of adhesions, super tight muscles or trigger points, these are identified for later treatment. Massage is not a compulsory part of the laser experience, but we find it most helpful to treatment results. We recommend adding it after you’ve had 4 laser treatments, as this helps to clarify treatment response.