Craig Amrine, L.Ac. is a licensed acupuncturist and expert on cold-laser therapy and can be reached through his website at www.hiddenrhythmacupuncture.com

-------------------------------------------------------

Cold-laser therapy, or low level laser therapy is slowly growing in acceptance  as a tool to improve wound healing.  I personally utilize a very powerful cold-laser system by Apollo Laser in my acupuncture practice.

During my investigation of research on the influence of laser therapy for bone repair, I came across a large list of abstracts that really highlighted the effectiveness of laser therapy to accelerate bone healing.  The abstracts include a large number of animal studies (rabbits and mice) where bone fractures were induced and healing rates compared between groups exposed to laser and those that were not (control).  Postmortem studies of the repair sites showed overwhelming evidence that the laser-treated groups showed higher rates of bone growth and fracture repair. These positive results also applied to bone, metal and bio-glass/ceramic implants where laser treated sites showed much higher degree of bone formation around the implants.

Studies involving human cells responsible for bone-growth (osteoblasts) were conducted in-vitro (in a petri dish).  In comparison to a non irradiated cells, those exposed to laser treatments showed a 2X  increase in cell maturation, longevity, and proliferation (cell number).

The abstracts for these studies can be found HERE

Both human and animal models show overwhelming evidence that laser treatments can speed up the bone healing from fractures and implants.

So... Why isn't this used in hospitals and orthopedic surgical centers?  Several of my patients who come to me after they have undergone surgery have asked their doctors that same question.  After my acupuncture and laser therapy treatments, their post-operative pain and swelling is vastly improved.  When sharing that experience with their doctors, most of the doctors claim that they have never heard of cold-laser therapy or don't admit that it is valid.  Amazing!  Additional information explaining exactly what cold-laser therapy is can be found here.