The Pros and Cons of Cold Laser Therapy

Low level laser therapy, or “cold” laser therapy,be discovered and/or fully explored. Thus far, cold
is a relatively new medical field. It came into being inlaser therapy has been proven to work effectively in
the mid sixties, only a few years after the firstthe treatment of neck pain, rheumatoid arthritis,
successful testing of a laser device. Before the laser,osteoarthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, and
most research that focused on the use of light formusculatory ailments. Another thing that makes cold
medical purposes was mostly centered on studyinglaser therapy attractive to many patients is the fact
the destructive thermal properties of light and radiation.that cold laser therapy is non-invasive, painless and has
Cold laser therapy marked one shift in this trend byno negative side effects.
focusing instead on the non-destructive andThe Cons
non-thermal benefits of light emission.The main downside to cold laser therapy is that it is still
The Prosa relatively new medical field, and as such, has not
Cold laser therapy was pioneered by a man namedbeen accepted widely into the mainstream scientific
Endre Mester, a medical researcher who working outand medical community. As a result, there is a lack of
of Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, whensufficient data and properly-conducted studies to
in 1967 he successfully demonstrated the capabilitiesverify the benefits of cold laser therapy in the
of low level laser light to stimulate cell functions andtreatment of certain diseases. Nonetheless, unethical
help expedite tissue repair. Mester’s original goal inmedical companies will sometimes advertise these
conducting these studies into low level laser light wasunproven treatments anyway, which is why it’s
to find an alternative treatment for diabetic ulcers.important to look if the treatment has FDA approval
In the decades that followed Mester’s foundingbefore you purchase it. The FDA, despite having
research, other scientists have continued to exploreofficially approved a wide variety of cold laser therapy
the potential medical uses of low level laser light usingtreatments, still considers it an experimental field.
a top quality surgical laser, many of which have yet to