Laser Therapy  

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History of Laser Therapy

Dr Endre Mester, a Professor of Surgery at Semmelweiss Hospital, Budapest is often referred to as the grandfather of Low Level Laser Therapy. He discovered that irradiation of tissue with low dose levels using a ruby laser (emitting red light) resulted in an increased rate of healing and his subsequent work provided the initial volume of evidence for the efficacy of laser in healing and wound care. The new science of Low Level Laser therapy (LLLT), also known as Low Intensity Laser Therapy (LILT), was born.

Research has clearly demonstrated effects at cellular level, in animals and from clinical experience, but work continues into understanding exactly how laser therapy works. The key research questions today are not whether low level lasers have positive effects, but how the precise and multiple biological mechanisms combine to create the physiological effects and how best to achieve the particular effects sought in each of the wide range of relevant applications.

In the meantime LLLT is now widely used by healthcare professionals across the world who appreciate not only its effectiveness but its added advantages of being drug-free, pain-free, non-invasive and without unpleasant side effects. It is often less expensive than alternative treatments and has fewer contraindications than popular forms of electrotherapy.   ​

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Uses in Podiatry.

With widespread recognition of the reliable benefits, we are seeing particularly rapid growth in the use of low level lasers in the field of Podiatry. With mounting clinical evidence of Low Level Laser Therapy’s (LLLT’s) effectiveness on a diverse range of conditions, podiatry clinics and departments across the country are choosing Laser Therapy.

Podiatry is perhaps the discipline with the highest proportion of conditions for which LLLT is relevant and highly effective. With increasing take-up, the therapy is now moving from being a point of difference in terms of podiatry services offered, to being established as part of the norm in a number of areas. Departments and clinics without laser increasingly risk comparatively longer resolution times with more frequent and recurrent treatments resulting in poorer service and cost-efficiency across a range of applications.

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Various types of ‘Laser treatment’ can be used to treat the following:-

• Plantar Fasciitis

• Achilles Tendonitis

• Post operative to full/partial nail avulsion / ‘Minor surgery’

• Skin ulcerations

• Fungal nails (Onychomycosis) 

• Verruca/e