Cold laser therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy or photobiomodulation, has become an increasingly popular treatment option for all sorts of conditions over the past few decades. This non-invasive therapy uses low-level lasers or light-emitting diodes to stimulate your body's natural healing processes. While more research is still being done to fully understand how cold laser therapy works, current studies show there are many great benefits you can get from this treatment. Here are eight ways cold laser therapy can help you.

1. It Reduces Your Pain

One of the most common uses of cold laser therapy is to relieve pain. The light energy helps reduce inflammation, swelling, and muscle spasms that contribute to your discomfort. Cold laser has been proven to relieve neck, back, joint, and other pain associated with injuries, chronic conditions, or surgery. Some people dealing with chronic neck pain have found it helps alleviate their discomfort. It's thought to block pain signals and boost your body's natural pain-relieving chemicals.

2. It Accelerates Healing

The light from cold laser therapy is absorbed by cells, making them stimulate healing. According to Verywell Health, low-level laser therapy, typically ranging between 600 to 1,000-nanometer wavelength, is ideal for increasing blood flow and improving healing in injured tissues. This includes increased ATP energy, better blood flow, drainage of fluids, and new collagen and blood vessels in damaged tissues. These effects can make wounds, strains, injuries, and damaged nerves heal faster. It's especially useful for healing pressure sores, diabetic ulcers, burns, and post-oral surgery faster than usual care alone.

3. It Reduces Inflammation

The light energy in cold laser therapy has anti-inflammatory effects on your body. It stimulates the drainage of excess fluids and reduces swelling from injuries or inflammatory conditions. Studies show cold lasers can reduce inflammation in rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and chronic low-back pain. For ongoing inflammation, our experts recommend two or three treatments per week for a few weeks.

4. It Improves Nerve Function

Cold laser therapy enhances nerve function and regeneration. The light stimulates mitochondria in nerve cells, improving conduction, firing, and growth of new nerve endings. This means it can help conditions involving peripheral nerve damage like carpal tunnel syndrome, Bell's palsy, and diabetic neuropathy. For nerves, the laser is applied along the spine and affected limbs.

5. It Relaxes Muscles and Reduces Spasms

This therapy can reduce muscle spasms and stiffness to improve mobility. The light boosts cell metabolism and circulation, relaxing muscles and speeding repair, so cold laser therapy can reduce spasticity from stroke or spinal cord injury. It also relieves muscle tightness and pain from strains, sprains, fibromyalgia, and trigger points.

6. It Enhances Athletic Performance and Recovery

The benefits of cold laser make it popular with athletes for training and competition. It can improve muscle performance, endurance, flexibility, and recovery. Pro athletes often use it to return to play faster post-injury. It also boosts overall performance when applied to large muscle groups pre-exercise. Regular treatments let you train harder with lower injury risk.

7. It May Help Reduce Fat

While diet and exercise are most important for fat loss, some early research suggests cold lasers may also help reduce fat cell size. The light can boost metabolism, increase fat breakdown, and shrink fat cells. When applied to problem areas, it might help reduce fat in the waist, thighs, arms, and back. You'll likely need multiple sessions to see measurable fat loss. More studies are still needed, but they show potential for non-invasive body contouring.

8. It Stimulates Hair Growth

Studies show cold lasers can seriously increase hair counts for men and women with pattern baldness or alopecia. In our experience, to get optimal results, you'll need treatments every one to two weeks for several months. The laser light penetrates all the way down to your scalp safely without any damage. Over time, you're likely to see visible improvements in the density and thickness of your hair. So say goodbye to the bald spots, and hello to a fuller head of hair with cold laser!

Cold laser therapy offers an effective, drug-free way to get a variety of benefits with minimal side effects. When performed properly by a trained professional, it has proven results for relieving acute and chronic pain, speeding injury healing, reducing inflammation, relaxing muscles, and potentially even spot fat reduction. If you're ready to learn more about cold laser therapy, including whether it's right for you, visit the offices of Dr. Mark Neumann today. With over 40 years of experience, you know you're in good hands. Call today to schedule your appointment.