After a year of shopping, researching, asking around, I chose the best laser for our practice and made the investment! I had learned the physiology of laser therapy during my acupuncture training last year- the fancy name is photobiomodulation. Laser and light therapy can penetrate various depths of tissues based on wavelength and frequency. Photons sent to the tissue can increase blood flow, increase local metabolism, and inhibit the pain cascade by communicating with little organelles inside the cells called mitochondria (there’s a word you haven’t heard since 8th grade!). Laser is a great, drug-free addition to treatments for lick granulomas, arthritis, neuropathies… almost any disease process really. The one thing we cannot treat with laser is cancer. The increase in metabolism and blood flow will feed the tumor and make it worse- not cool!

The laser I selected is a super-pulsed class 1M. It also offers blue LED light for bacterial inhibition (great for skin infections). The super-pulsing and wavelength (880 nm) of the laser makes it potent and able to penetrate deeper than other lasers (Class 3 and 4). And, the class 1M does not require safety goggles to be worn by every living creature in the room. This was a huge benefit for home use. Further, this specialized laser has attachments on it that can focus the laser on specific acupuncture points if desired. There are many points, particularly on the feet, that dogs and cats just don’t seem to enjoy having a needle in – can’t imagine why! Being able to laser these points opens up my options for acupuncture treatment as well.

I can provide laser therapy at home in conjunction with our appointment, as an addition to acupuncture, or as a stand-alone treatment in our low stress clinic. Our clinic is located at 1601 N Belt West in Belleville, IL.