How Can Cold Laser Therapy Help My Knee Pain?

There are multiple benefits to receiving cold laser treatments.  The list below gives a brief overview of just a few of them.

• Relieves or Eliminates acute and chronic knee pain
  • Cold Laser Therapy blocks pain transmitted by nerve cells.
  • Cold Laser Therapy reduces/eliminates inflammation, therefore there is less swelling in the knee and less knee pain.
  • Cold Lasers also help release high levels of pain killing chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins.
• Increases the speed, quality, and tensile strength of tissue repair in the knee
  • Photons of light from cold lasers penetrate deeply into tissue and accelerate cellular reproduction and growth.
  • Lasers also increase the energy of the cell so that the cell can take on nutrients faster, and get rid of waste products. When the cell is damaged or injured, for instance in arthritis, it is not able to repair itself so the knee continues to deteriorate. This is why it is so important to help the cells repair themselves so that the deteriorative process stops.
  • As a result of the laser, the regenerative cells of tendons, bone, ligaments and muscles repair faster.
  • Cold Lasers also reduce the formation of scar tissue following tissue damage from cuts, scratches, burns or surgery.
• Increases blood supply to the tissues in and around the knee joint
  • The lasers we use in our office significantly increase the blood supply to damaged tissue therefore speeding up the healing process and reducing scar tissue in and around the knee joint.
• Stimulates the immune system
  • Cold Lasers have a direct effect by stimulating immunoglobulin and lymphocytes.
• Stimulates and improves nerve function
  • Cold lasers stimulate nerve function.  Without proper nerve function one will eventually feel numbness, tingling and/ or burning sensations around the knee joint. 
• Develops collagen and muscle tissue
  • Collagen is the essential protein (found in cartilage) required to replace old tissue or to repair injuries in body tissues.
• Helps generate new and healthy cells and tissue
  • Cold Laser Therapy re-energizes cell membranes allowing the transport of essential nutrients, specific enzymes, and greater oxygen flow across cell walls allowing healthy new cells to grow in the soft tissues of the knee.  (Nutrients will not cross an injured or sick cell wall, thus slowing the healing process and not allowing new cells to grow).  For example, the degenerative process in Osteoarthritis is unknown.  But it is thought to represent a defect in the cellular repair process.  Cold lasers help heal and repair cells that are damaged and irritated this results in the restoration of normal cell function.

• Promotes faster wound healing
  • The cold lasers we use in our office stimulate fibroblast development (fibroblasts are the building blocks of collagen, which is predominant in wound healing) in damaged tissue in the knee
• Reduces inflammation (swelling) in the knee
  • Cold Lasers have an anti-edema effect.  They cause vasodilation of the cells which activates the lymphatic drainage system (drains swollen areas).  As a result, there is reduction in swelling in the knee caused by bruising or inflammation. 

“The laser treatment speeds up cell repair & stimulates the immune, lymphatic, & vascular systems.” Paul Silbert, M.D, Chief of Neurology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

It is important to remember that Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program not only includes cold laser therapy but combines other modalities to help work on your strength, range of motion and overall improved health and function of your knee.

If you live in the Dallas/ Fort-Worth Metroplex and would like more information about Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program please call our office at 214-596-1051, or fill out the form on the right hand side of this page and a FREE 16 page report about cold laser treatments will be mailed to you within 72 hours.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

Reference: Martin R., Laser-Accelerated Inflammation/Pain Reduction and Healing.  Practical Pain Management. Nov/Dec 2003 3(6):20-25.

Cold Laser as Effective as Cortisone, But Painless and Safer Without Any of the Side-Effects!

Rats with arthritis were exposed to a number of different cold laser protocols. It was found that treating the arthritic area with 810-nm cold laser (low-level laser) was as good as cortisone at reducing swelling, and most importantly had none of the negative side-effects of cortisone. In addition, cortisone shots are very painful and uncomfortable however cold laser treatments are completely painless.  The research study verified that cold laser therapy not only reduced joint swelling but also correlated with decreased serum prostaglandins, a common marker of inflammation.

If you have swelling in your knees because of arthritis, ‘bone on bone’, a meniscus tear, Baker’s Cyst, tendonitis, bursitis or a knee injury, and live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area call our office at 214-596-1051 to find out if you’re a candidate for Dr. Schnee’s Cold Laser Knee Program.

Or if you would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

This blog is meant to be interactive, and informative.  I’ll be adding new information regularly on this blog, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them below.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

References: Castano AP, Lasers Surg Med 2007 Jul; 39(6):543-50.

Cold Lasers Are Far More Effective Than Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and Super Luminous Diodes (SLD) for Treating Deeper Joint, Soft Tissue Conditions

Phototherapy is the general term for light therapy.  Light energy can be produced by a variety of devices such as Light Emitting Diodes, Super Luminous Diodes and Cold Lasers (low-level lasers).  All three of these devices have therapeutic effects;   however, the depth of penetration and tissue that is affected greatly varies between all three forms of therapy.  Due to their unique properties and penetration depth Cold Lasers are far more powerful then LED’s or SLD’s, so they are more effective at treating deeper conditions.

LED’s (light emitting diodes) and SLD’s (super luminous diodes), produce broader beams of light that are referred to as non-coherent light sources.  This type of light therapy is dimmer and is not as photoactive as cold lasers but can be very helpful for treating superficial wounds, ulcers and burns.  LED’s will normally penetrate less than 1 cm.  SLD’s are more powerful and can penetrate about 2.5 cm below the skins surface.  LED’s and SLD’s are often sold to consumers on the internet or on infomercials they are not considered true cold lasers or low-level lasers.

In contrast, Cold Lasers (low-level lasers) produce coherent light waves.  Coherence is at term that refers to light that is well ordered, and has synchronized light waves and has shown to be more active at deeper tissue levels.  Coherence is a very unique property found only in lasers. This property is maintained when the light enters the tissue.   Therefore, cold lasers are used to treat deeper joint and soft tissue conditions so discs, nerves, tendons, ligaments, muscle and other soft tissues are able to be treated.  True Cold Lasers with a wavelength around 830*nm can penetrate 1-4 inches deep with a lateral spread of 1.5 inches.  The wavelength of the laser is also important.  For the deepest penetration 790nm-830nm has shown to be far more effective in treating tissue than any other wavelength. This is important because not all cold lasers are created equal.   In our office we  use FDA cleared, IIIB cold  lasers such as the ML830™, Med X™, Apollo™ etc. when treating knee pain so that we can get to the source of the problem.
If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth Metroplex and are tired of suffering from knee pain, and would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

This blog is meant to be interactive, and informative.  I’ll be adding new information regularly on this blog, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them below.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001.”

References: Photomedicine and Laser Surgery. Volume 23, Number 4, 2005; Pp. 431-434

Laser Therapy More Effective Than Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

A research group from Norway, headed by Dr. Jan M. Bjordal, and published in the British Medical Journal summarizes that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), including cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors, reduce short-term pain associated with knee osteoarthritis only slightly better than a placebo.(1)

The findings from a recent Norwegian Health Technology Assessment Report stated that low- laser therapy (cold laser) was actually twice as effective as NSAIDs, if applied correctly with optimal dose and energy.  According to the Norwegian Drug Agency, low- laser therapy has earned a top spot in treatment recommendations for patients suffering with osteoarthritis knee pain,  due to the unequivocal scientific findings so far, and lasers effectiveness for treating knee pain.

Long term NSAID use is harmful, should be avoided, and is ineffective for osteoarthritis knee pain.  If you want relief from arthritis knee pain that is safe, has no side-effects, and is painless then call our office at 214-596-1051 to find out about our Cold Laser Knee Program.

If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth Metroplex and would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

This blog is meant to be interactive, and informative.  I’ll be adding new information regularly on this blog, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them below.

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.,-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001”

1. Rauscher, Megan.  NSAIDS Do Little to Relieve Knee Osteoarthritis Pain.  Reuters Health.  2004. 16:20:27.

Arthroscopic Surgery for Arthritis Knee Pain is Proven Worthless

Prior to receiving treatment in my office, half of my patients have had at least one or more arthroscopic knee surgeries, which did not meet their expectations. Unfortunately, after the surgery many of these patients still suffered from knee pain, swelling, reduced range of motion or some other problem that arthroscopic surgery did not fix. If only those patients would have known about the double blind studies that the New England Journal of Medicine had published about the results of arthroscopic surgery. The information would have saved them months of unnecessary suffering…

The New England Journal of Medicine, after two years of follow-up, reported on the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of arthroscopy for osteoarthritis of the knee. It was concluded that patients who had arthroscopic surgery (lavage or debridement) performed were no better off than those who underwent the placebo (fake surgery) procedure. (1) Dr. Kenneth Fine, an orthopedic surgeon at the George Washington University School of Medicine, said the procedure had long seemed to do nothing for patients’ “underlying arthritis”. (2)

As a matter of fact arthroscopic surgery actually creates more of the same problem that it is trying to repair. ‘Cleaning out’ or taking out cartilage just leads to more arthritis in the future. Unfortunately, this leaves the knee vulnerable to becoming ‘bone on bone’ and eventually a knee replacement must be performed.

Why undergo arthroscopic surgery and possibly set yourself up for a knee replacement in the future when you can undergo our Cold Laser Knee Program, and get results without any side-effects?

If you have had arthroscopic knee surgery to ‘clean up your knee’ and you’re still in pain then our Cold Laser Knee Program may be able to help you. Join the hundreds of patients who we have helped by eliminating their knee pain, swelling, increasing their range of motion, and strengthening their weak muscles, and ultimately helping them avoid knee surgery.

If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth Metroplex and would like more information about my Cold Laser Knee Program fill out the form on the right side of this screen to get your FREE report mailed to you today!

Article by Dr. Alexandra K. Schnee, B.S.,D.C.-Your Cold Laser Professional of the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas Area-“Helping People with Knee Pain and Joint Pain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area since 2001”

1. Moseley, JB, O’Malley, Peterson NJ, et al.  A Controlled Trial of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee.   New England Journal of Medicine. 347(2): 7/11/02: 81-88.

2. Kolata, G. Arthritis Surgery in Ailing Knees is Cited as Sham.  New York Times.  July 11, 2002: Al.