Research indicates that many acute and chronic conditions can be improved or
eliminated through phototherapy, including:
Arthritis
Migraine Headaches
Lower Back Pain
Repetitive Injuries (RSI)
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
Tendonitis
Fibromyalgia
Sprains and Strains
Post-Operative Pain
Tennis and Golfer's Elbow
Temperomandibular Joint ( TMJ )
Musculoskeletal Conditions and Pain Management
Injury and Soft Tissue Healing
Postoperative Wounds
Soft Tissue Swelling
Burns
Pressure Ulcers
Herpes Simplex
Acne
Inflammatory Skin Conditions
Rosacea
Non-healing Wounds
Hematomas
Light therapy has been shown in over 40 years of independent research worldwide
to deliver powerful therapeutic benefits to living tissues and organisms. Both
visible red and infrared light have been shown to effect at least 24 different
positive changes at a cellular level.
Visible red light, at a wavelength of 660 nanometers (nm - 1 nanometer is equal
to one billionth of a meter), penetrates tissue to a depth of about 8-10 mm. It
is very beneficial in treating problems close to the surface such as wounds, cuts,
scars, trigger and acupuncture points and is particularly effective in treating
infections. Infrared light (904nm) penetrates to a depth of about 30-40 mm which
makes it more effective for bones, joints, deep muscle, etc.
The diverse tissue and cell types in the body all have their own unique light
absorption characteristics; that is, they will only absorb light at specific wavelengths
and not at others. For example, skin layers, because of their high blood and water
content, absorb red light very readily, while calcium and phosphorus absorb light
of a different wavelength.
Although both red and infrared wavelengths penetrate to different depths and
affect tissues differently, their therapeutic effects are similar. Depth of penetration
is defined as the depth at which 60% of the light is absorbed by the tissue, while
40% of the light will continue to be absorbed in a manner that is less fully understood.
Treating points with Light can have a dramatic effect on remote and internal
areas of the body through the stimulation of nerves, acupuncture and trigger points
that perform a function not unlike transmission cables.At this time, research
has shown no side effects from this form of therapy.
Occasionally, one may experience an increase in pain or discomfort for a short
period of time after treating chronic conditions. This occurs as the body reestablishes
new equilibrium points following treatment. It is a phenomenon that may occur
as part of the normal process of recovery. Light therapy has also been given the
name " phototherapy". A study done by the Mayo Clinic in 1989 suggests that the
results of light therapy are a direct effect of light itself, generated at specific
wavelengths, and are not necessarily a function of the characteristics of coherency
and polarization associated with lasers.
In a study entitled Low-Energy Laser Therapy: Controversies and New Research Findings, Jeffrey R. Basford, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic's Department of Physical Medicine
and Rehabilitation, suggests that the coherent aspect of laser may not be the
source of its therapeutic effect. He states "firstly, the stimulating effects
(from therapeutic light) are reported following irradiation with non-laser sources
and secondly, tissue scattering, as well as fiber optic delivery systems used
in many experiments rapidly degrade coherency . . . Thus any effects produced
by low-energy lasers may be due to the effects of light in general and not to
the unique properties of lasers. This view is not difficult to accept when it
is remembered that wave-length dependent photobiochemical reactions occur throughout
nature and are involved in such things as vision, photosynthesis, tanning and
Vitamin D metabolism. In this view, laser therapy is really a form of light therapy,
and lasers are important in that they are convenient sources of intense light
at wavelengths that stimulate specific physiological functions (Lasers in Surgery
and Medicine 9:1-5, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, 1989).LED's and LASERS
are no more than convenient devices for producing electromagnetic radiation at
specific wavelengths, and in addition to the one already cited, several other
studies establish that it is the light itself at specific wavelengths that is
therapeutic in nature and not the machine which produced it. For example, Kendric
C. Smith at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of
Medicine, concludes in an important article entitled The Photobiological Effect of Low Level Laser Radiation Therapy (Laser Therapy, Vol. 3, No. 1, Jan - Mar 1991) that:
"1) Lasers are just convenient machines that produce radiation.
2) It is the radiation that produces the photobiological and/or photophysical
effects and therapeutic gains, not the machines.
3) Radiation must be absorbed to produce a chemical or physical change, which
results in a biological response."The equation between the machine and the biological
response is a common error often made by those who wish to promote the commercial
interests of low-energy laser technology. Light radiation must be absorbed to
produce a biological response. All biological systems have a unique absorption
spectrum which determines what wavelengths of radiation will be absorbed to produce
a given therapeutic effect. The visible red and infrared portions of the spectrum
have been shown to have highly absorbent and unique therapeutic effects in living
tissues.
The following are definitions of commonly used terms used in connection with
the use of therapeutic light devices:
1) Visible Light: light that is within the visible spectrum, 400nm(violet) to
700nm(red)
2) Infrared Light: light in the invisible spectrum below red, from 700nm to 2,000nm
3) Frequency: number of cycles per second measured in Hertz
4) Coherency: wavelengths of light traveling in phase with one another
5) Monochromaticity: light that is of one color, or one wavelength
6) Collimation: light focused in a beam, maintaining a constant diameter regardless
of its distance from the object or surface at which it is directed
7) Nanometer (nm): a unit of measure of wavelength of light (one billionth of
a meter)
8) Nanosecond: one billionth of a second
9) Joule (J): unit used to measure the energy delivered
10) Watts (w) and milliwatts (mw, 1/ 1000th of a watt): units used to measure
the power capability
11) Peak power output: the maximum output of power, measured in milliwatts and
watts
12) Average power: amount of power actually delivered in a given period of time
13) Duty cycle: the amount of time the light is actually on during a given period
of time
Lasers are of two principal types, "hot" and "cold", and they are distinguished
by the amount of peak power they deliver. "Hot" lasers deliver power up to thousands
of watts. They are used in surgery because they can make an incision that is very
clean with little or no bleeding and because the laser cauterizes the incision
as it cuts. They are also used in surgery that requires the removal of unhealthy
tissue without damaging the healthy tissue that surrounds it. . "Cold" lasers
produce a lower average power of 100 milliwatts or less. This is the type of laser
that is used for therapeutic purposes and it is typically, although not always,
pulsed. The light is actually on for only a fraction of a second because it is
pulsed (turned on and off) at so many pulses per second. Pulsation results in
an average power output that is very low compared to the maximum or peak output.
Hence, most therapeutic lasers produce a high peak but low average power output.
Therapeutic laser light is generally either visible (red, in most cases) or invisible
(infrared). However, most therapeutic lasers operate at 904 nm which is an infrared
light.What is the Difference between LED's and LASERS? Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
are another form of light therapy that is a relatively recent development of the
laser industry. LEDs are similar to lasers inasmuch as they have the same healing
effects but differ in the way that the light energy is delivered. A significant
difference between lasers and LEDs is the power output. The peak power output
of LEDs is measured in milliwatts, while that of lasers is measured in watts.
However, this difference when considered alone is misleading, since the most critical
factor that determines the amount of energy delivered is the duty cycle of the
device.
LED devices usually have a 50% duty cycle. That is, the LED pulse is "on" for
0.5 seconds and "off" for 0.5 seconds versus the 2 ten-millionths of a second
burst from laser at 1 cycle per second (1 hertz). Moreover, LED is "on" 50% of
the time and "off" 50% of the time regardless of what frequency setting (pulses
per second) is used.In the majority of lasers on the market, the energy output
varies with the frequency setting: the lower the frequency, the lower the output.
In the Lumen™ system on the contrary, the output is constant regardless of frequency.
Even in the case of lasers that claim a peak output of 10 watts, because of the
very short duty cycle, the average output at the highest frequencies is of the
order of about 10 milliwatts. At the lower frequencies, however, the average output
plummets into the range of microwatts (1 microwatt = 1000th of 1 milliwatt).LEDs
do not deliver enough power to damage the tissue, but they do deliver enough energy
to stimulate a response from the body to heal itself. With a low peak power output
but high duty cycle, the LEDs provide a much gentler delivery of the same healing
wavelengths of light as does the laser but at a substantially greater energy output.
For this reason, LEDs do not have the same risk of accidental eye damage that
lasers do. Moreover, LEDs are neither coherent nor collimated and they generate
a broader band of wavelengths than do the single-wavelength laser. Non-collimation
and the wide-angle diffusion of the LED confers upon it a greater ease of application,
since light emissions are thereby able to penetrate a broader surface area. Moreover,
the multiplicity of wavelengths in the LED, contrary to the single-wavelength
laser, may enable it to affect a broader range of tissue types and produce a wider
range of photochemical reactions in the tissue.If LED disperses over a greater
surface area, this results in a faster treatment time for a given area than laser.
The primary reason that Lumen chose the LEDs over lasers is that LEDs are safer,
more cost effective, provide a gentle but effective delivery of light and a greater
energy output per unit of surface area in a given time duration. They are offered
in combinations of visible red light at 660nm and infrared light at from 830nm
to 930nm, with 880nm as their average. |