What is Cold Laser Therapy?
Cold laser therapy is a cutting-edge therapeutic treatment option that has become more and more popular in recent years as veterinarians have started to use it to treat all manner of conditions in pets. Cold laser therapy is particularly effective in helping our companion animals to recover from illness or injury.
At our Mandeville veterinary hospital, our team is passionate about providing your pet with the best possible treatment for their condition. Cold laser therapy for dogs, cats and other pets gives us a safe and non-invasive way to help alleviate their pain, encourage their healing and reducing their inflammation. We want to speed up the recovery process and help get them back to their normal selves.
There is a wide variety of conditions that can be improved with the use of cold laser therapy. These include muscle and joint pain, muscles spasms and arthritis symptoms.
The Cold Laser Therapy Treatment Process
Using cold laser therapy for pets involves moving a handheld laser wand over the parts of your pet's body that are suffering from a condition or have sustained an injury.
Your pet will feel a comforting and pleasant warm feeling in the area receiving treatment, and will likely find it quite relaxing. Cold laser therapy sessions at our veterinary hospital will generally last about 20 minutes.
Your pet may start to feel improvements in their condition like reduced pain after only their first treatment. Sometimes, it may take longer for the effects of cold laser therapy to be noticeable, but this doesn't mean that healing isn't happening!
Uses for Laser Therapy
Veterinary laser therapy has a wide range of uses in treating your pet and is notably effective when it is combined with other, more traditional, treatment methods or procedures.
Laser therapy promotes circulation and encourages cell regeneration, benefiting the following procedures and conditions:
- Post-Surgical Recovery
- Lick Granuloma
- Strains & Sprains
- Wounds
- Dental Procedures
- Bone Fractures
- Inflammation
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Degenerative Joint Disease
The effects of cold laser therapy treatments are cumulative. This means that each treatment builds onto the last one. Your veterinarian will be able to provide you with an estimate of how many therapy sessions your pet will require in order to gain the full benefit of this treatment method based on their particular health issue.
Benefits of Cold Laser Therapy
Therapeutic laser treatments provide various health benefits for pets that undergo them.
When your pet receives low-intensity laser therapy treatment, the laser wand used in the process emits special wavelengths of light that cause an alteration in the physiology of their cells to encourage function and healing. This process is called photobiomodulation.
The strength of the laser, and the wavelength of the light it emits, will change the layer of tissue that is affected by the treatment. The stronger the laser, the deeper the tissues it affects will be.
Some of the benefits of cold laser therapy include:
- Enhances neovascularization
- Encourages bone healing
- Increases blood perfusion
- Increases wound healing
- Reduces edema (swelling)
- Accelerates mitochondrial cell metabolism
- Reduces inflammation and associated pain
Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
Alongside cold laser technology, our veterinarians use an array of advanced tools and technologies in our in-house veterinary lab in order to diagnose and treat your pet. From radiographs and fecal exams to urinalysis, our Mandeville veterinary team use to tools required to quickly and precisely diagnose and then deliver prompt treatment to your pet, such as laser therapy.