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Laser
Therapy
Foxden Equine
has
THOR and SpectraVet
Laser Units available for rent.
Call or email
for more information.
What is Laser Therapy?
Laser therapy is
the application of laser light over injuries and the lesions
to stimulate healing withing those tissues. The term Laser is
an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation. Laser light is different from normal ambient light
due to the process of production. Laser light is (a) Monochromaic
(all the same wavelength), and (b) Coherent (all the waves peak
at the same time or are "phased") and hence resist
scattering.
Laser are best known
for their ability to cut and have been well known in the medical
field for surgery. However the laser light we are referring
to is of a much lower power and also usually of a different
wavelength. Laser therapy is also sometimes referred to as "cold
laser" or "low level laser therapy". The first
name is because unlike ultrasound, the laser does not heat up
the tissues. Laser therapy usually uses light in the 400-1200
nanometer range. This is light in the infrared range of the
electro-magnetic spectrum. Light below 750nm is visible and
light above 750nm is not visible.
How Does
Laser Therapy Work?
Work using a laser irradiation of tissue cultures has shown that
the light energy (photos) are absorbed by various enzymes within
the cell. Enzymes which react to light by absorbing energy are
called chromophores. The best known example of a chromophore is
chlorophyll, which is the light absorbing pigment of plant cells.
In a mammalian cell the light is usually absorbed by the enzymes
of the phytochrome oxidase pathway or the mitochondria. The energy
entering the pathway as light is used to produce ATP, the general
energy currency of the cell. The cell uses the ATP to perform
all it's various functions.
It has been shown that irradiation with laser light causes:
On a Cellular Level
- Increased phosphorylation
in the mitochondria and increased levels of cellular ATP
- Increased protein
synthesis, including increased growth and reproduction
- Increased activity
in the nucleus resulting in increased DNA and RNA synthesis
- Increased production
and activation of cellular enzymes
- Improved membrane
stability and increased activity of the Sodium/Potassium pump
On a Tissue Level
- Increases in
collagen production
- Increased epithelial
produciton
- Angiogenesis,
and an increase in capillarisation of tissue
- Reductions in
scar tissue formation and keloid adhesions
- Reduced pain
and inflamation
- Nerve regeneration
- Muscle relaxation
and reduction in muscle spasms and atonicity
- Increased immune
system response
What can you use lasers for?
Click here to see actual results of
Laser Therapy
1. Treatment of traumatic, inflammatory and overuse injuries.
2. Pain relief and healing of arthritic lesions.
3. Reduce abscess and treat persistent non-healing wounds such
as cold sores and ulcers.
4. Prevent or minimize keloid formations and adhesions.
5. Reduce edema and reduce pain from surgical and other treatments.
6. Encourage formation of collagen and cartilage in damaged joints.
7. Encourage repair of tendons and ligaments.
 A
therapy laser can also be used to stimulate acupuncture points
in a non-invasive, pain free manner. Power is measured in watts.
Cutting lasers produce 20-30 watts, a therapy laser produces
less than one watt and is usually measured in milliwatts or
mW. A laser can also be 'pulsed' that is the light needs to
be switched on and off to increase penetration in to the tissue.
The pulsing is called frequency and is measured in Hertz (Htz).
Most therapy lasers can be set to several different frequencies,
the frequency desired depending on the tissue being treated.
 A
joule is watts (x) time. The minimum dose which will affect
a cell is 0.01 J/cm2. To be effective as a therapy tool a laser
needs to produce an average power output of greater than 2 mW.
In order to have a measurable effect on the tissues it is necessary
to infuse 2-4 joules of power per cm2 of tissue.
 We
purchased our Thor DD laser
from Foxden Equine a couple of years ago and we have grown so
accustomed to it that we use it on at least 6 horses in our
barn everyday.
We use it mostly for the general relaxation of the horse's body
as well as for more severe ailments such as suspensory injuries
and burns. We have 2 horses in the barn whose condition was
so acute that we were told they would never heal. The first
being one of my breeding stallions, a lovely Akhal Teke who
was in a barn fire 6 years ago and lost all of the hair along
the topline from his head down to his tail. When we bought him,
he had grown back most of the hair except where the saddle lies.
I was told that this accident happened so long ago that the
hair folicles were dead and there was no hope for the hair to
ever come back. But I use the laser religiously each day and
in the last 2 months fifty percent of the hair has already grown
back and most of it is of his natural coat color, brown.
My second "patient" is a lovely horse who tore the suspensory
from the sesamoid bone. We gave the horse a year off but the
outcome seemed pretty grim. Although the horse was never lame
, the leg was swollen and the ultrasound and x-rays were pretty
awful. But I did not lose hope and I lasered that leg daily.
Every 3 months the vet came back to check the horse and was
amazed by the healing process. Now a year later, the vet came
to check and could not believe it was the same horse on the
cross ties. Both the ultrasound and the x-rays have shown it
has healed immensely. I cannot mention how valuable this laser
is. It is a tool that heals the horse from sore aches and pains
to truly severe conditions.
Gerd and Sarah Reuter
Foxden
Equine Nutrition
P.O. Box 480
Stuarts Draft, VA 24477
540-337-5450 Phone • 540-337-5453 Fax
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