Many people looking for non needle forms of acupuncture eventually stumble on the use of laser acupuncture. Conversations with patients on this topic often stimulates mixed reactions. The prospect of acupuncture without needles is comforting, but the idea of laser also often brings up some fears about their safety. This is because we have become accustomed associating lasers with cutting in surgical and industrial applications.
These concerns are unwarranted because the type of laser used in surgery is much different than that used for acupuncture stimulation and other healing approaches. To gain some comfort with this idea a little background is helpful.
First, LASER is an acronym that stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. That’s a mouthful and you don’t need to remember it. What’s important to remember is that a laser device emits light in a concentrated narrow beam. This is the primary difference between a laser and a flashlight. The particles of light (photons) that come out of a flashlight disperse in a random fashion. This is why the center of the flashlight beam is relatively strong and the edges fuzzy. In a laser, however, all the particles of light emitted are lined up and heading in the same direction. If you’ve ever seen a laser light show or used a laser pointer you’ve probably recognized the crisp edge of the laser beam. In fact, the word laser has become part of our common vocabulary to describe a phenomenon that is sharply focused. You might say of a person who is very goal oriented: “She really lasered in on what she wanted.” The takeaway here is that it is the focused nature of light that gives it it’s power.
The second thing to grasp is that the amount of light that comes out of the laser determines how powerful it is. A high output, or “hot”, laser can cut through human tissue and is used in surgery. Lasers with an even higher light output are used in industrial applications to cut steel, etc. No doubt you’ve seen pictures of both. However, the lasers that are used in acupuncture or tissue regeneration are considered “cold” since their output is below the level that can produce heat damage in human tissue. A laser pointer is also considered cold but its output is well below that of therapeutic lasers. Although they are frequently promoted as being able to heal tissue, this is very debatable and there is little scientific evidence to suggest that they can actually affect any durable change.
However, therapeutic range cold laser, also called Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) has been studied extensively and has been demonstrated to produce some very beneficial changes in human tissue. The non-thermal effects of stimulating human tissue with LLLT include: stimulation of adenosine triphosphate production (ATP) in the cells, promotion of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and collagen production, modulation of inflammatory cytokines, inhibition of bacterial growth, promotion of vasodilatation and endothelial regeneration, stimulation of fibroblast activity, and promotion of neural regeneration. Put in layman’s language, this means that LLLT can increase the energy cells have to do work, which results in an increase in the repair of cellular damage, including a reduction in destructive inflammatory processes, repair of blood vessels and an increase of blood flow to the injury site, and an increase in the production of collagen and other tissues, including nerves!
Consequently, LLLT can be used to deliver energy to tissues for a wide variety of rehabilitation purposes. LLLT is often used to help repair connective tissue around joints like knees, shoulders, and spinal areas (think low back and neck). More recently, LLLT has been used to promote restoration of damaged skin, particularly on the face. The word “rejuvenation” literally means “to make young again” and that is what LLLT does, it makes the tissue biologically younger. The understanding of how it works to stimulate acupuncture points is still not well understood. Recent research indicates that acupuncture points are associated with connective tissue planes in the body that provide a yet undiscovered signaling system in the body. Laser light is believed to easily enter these tissue pathways at acupuncture points, producing a stimulation similar to the insertion of an acupuncture needle.
No matter how it works, many people have experienced great results in terms of pain relief and skin rejuvenation with cold laser therapy. If you are interested in knowing more about how LLLT might benefit you please call our office for a consultation.