K-Laser

K-LASER therapy does not treat conditions, it stimulates the body’s inherent healing mechanisms via a process called photobiomodulation. Through a combination of different wavelengths, power and frequency of laser light K-LASER is able to achieve improved healing times, pain reduction, increased circulation and decreased swelling. Laser Therapy has been utilised in human and animal medicine for many decades, however recent technical advances in laser miniaturisation has allowed laser therapy to be used for a wider range of patients.

Information for Pet Owners

What to expect

Normally patient sedation/restraint is not required during treatment, indeed most pets find the experience pleasant. Treatment times vary in length depending upon the condition and the size of your animal, but the majority are less than 8 minutes. Often improvement can be seen after the first visit, however Class IV Laser Therapy treatment is cumulative in nature so for most conditions patients will require several repeat treatments for greatest benefit. The schedule of treatments will vary depending upon the condition but this is an example plan often used:

  • Three treatments in the first week
  • Two in the second week
  • One in the third week
  • Monthly booster sessions as needed

Your veterinarian will recommend a suitable treatment plan for your pet’s condition.

What can Laser Therapy help treat

CLass IV Laser therapy can help treat a wide range of conditions effectively and without pain:

  • Joint Pain and Osteoarthritis
  • Tendonitis
  • Edema and Congestion
  • Chronic pain / Lameness
  • Fractures / Sprains / Strains
  • Trauma, Puncture Wounds
  • Dermatitis
  • Neck and Back Pain
  • Hip Dysplasia
  • Burns, Infected & Chronic Wounds
  • Rehabilitation
  • Recovery from surgery

Pet Owner FAQ's

Here is a list of the most common questions asked by pet owners about class 4 laser therapy.

What does class IV laser therapy mean?

Class IV is the rating of the laser device used to deliever the treatment. All K-LASER CUBE devices are class IV, this is the most powerful class of laser for therapeutic use. More power means higher doses of light energy can be delivered more quickly.

Will it hurt my Pet?

Most patients sense a mild, soothing warmth over the treated area. Areas of pain or inflammation may be sensitive briefly after treatment before improvement is experienced.

How long will a treatment session take?

It depends upon the size of the area being treated and the specific condition but typically sessions are 8 minutes in length or less. If your pet has multiple conditions your session may need to be longer.

How many sessions will my pet need?

This depends on the nature of the condition being treated. For some acute conditions 1-2 treatments may be sufficient. Often chronic conditions may require an initial set of 5 to 8 treatments with booster sessions as required to control pain.

How long before the results are felt?

Often improvement can be seen after the first visit, however Class IV Laser Therapy treatment is cumulative in nature so for most conditions patients will require several repeat treatments for greatest benefit.

Can Laser Therapy be used in conjunction with other forms of treatment?

With your veterinarians approval laser therapy can be used in combination with other forms of therapy, surgery, prescription drugs or dietary supplements.

Has Laser Therapy been scientifically demonstated to be effective?

Hundreds of published clinical papers have demonstrated the effectiveness of Laser Therapy. Laser Therapy is one of the fastest growing therapeutic treatments for both humans and animals for a wide range of conditions.

How long does each treatment take?

The typical treatment is 3 to 8 minutes, depending patient and the area being treated.

Arthritis and Pain Management

Arthritis will strike approximately 65% of dogs over the age of 10. And it’s not just a canine disease: Up to 30% of cats will suffer the pain of arthritis sometime in their life. Arthritis can strike any joint in the body, but the most common places we see it is in the spine, hips, elbows, and knees. In dogs especially, arthritis of the lower spine – called spondylosis – is extremely common, and probably the most common cause of rear limb weakness in older dogs.

Signs of spondylosis include difficulty getting up from a lying position, especially on slick surfaces, muscle wasting in the hips and thighs, dragging the rear feet when walking or trotting, and pain in the lower spine when manipulated.

The Treatment

In the past, the only things we had to treat spondylosis and lower back pain were anti-inflammatories, narcotics and glucosamine. None of these has shown to be adequate in controlling the progressive nature of arthritis, and in some cases can make the condition worse.

Anti-inflammatories are the backbone of arthritis pain control, and they come in two major flavors: either steroids or non-steroids. The steroids used to control arthritis are not the same as the steroids that weight lifters use. Anti-inflammatory steroids are generically referred to as cortisone drugs, and are extremely effective at reducing the inflammation of acute onset arthritis. However, they’re not recommended for long term use, as they cause muscle wasting on their own, and have negative effects on the liver, kidneys, adrenals, and other organs.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, often referred to as NSAIDS for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, can be used long term to control the pain of arthritis. However, they also have some negative side effects, including GI upset or bleeding, and negative effects on the liver and/or kidneys.

And overall, all anti-inflammatories do nothing to help heal the arthritis. They reduce inflammation, and thus pain, but they are not healing tissues. And in many cases, anti-inflammatories can make arthritis worse, as they reduce the body’s ability to heal itself. Until now there was nothing in our arsenal of medications to help make arthritis better, or to help heal tissue.

A Breakthrough in Arthritis Treatment

Cold therapy laser is a new treatment modality to help combat the destructive inflammation of arthritis. Cold therapy laser uses infrared laser beams to stimulate what’s termed as Photobiomodulation, or light-initiated changes in the way that cells react. By applying high power infrared light to the cells in a joint, they are stimulated to actually heal themselves.

High power laser therapy reduces inflammation, decreases pain drastically, increases blood flow to the affected tissues, and actually helps to heal damaged cells. It is not painful for the pet when applied, and results are usually instantaneous and dramatic.

Laser light stimulates cells (thus the Photobiomodulation) to decrease the formation of reactive, or oxidative proteins. It reduces the formation of, and enhances the destruction of free radicals, which damage cells. It stimulates new micro-vascular formation, thus increasing blood supply. It decreases nerve cell potentials, thus making neurons less susceptible to firing and registering pain. So nerve cells that would otherwise be in a heightened, or excited state, and more likely to register pain, are calmed down and the pet is more comfortable immediately.

The best part about laser therapy is that there are virtually no side effects. It can be used in any case, and for many more conditions than just arthritis. In general, anywhere there is inflammation in the body – which is only about 90% of the cases we see – the laser can be used to help heal tissues, decrease inflammation and pain, and speed recovery. It truly is a revolutionary breakthrough in how we treat our cases.

Not All Lasers Are Equal!

Laser is a new and growing part of the treatment modalities available in veterinary medicine, and you’re likely to hear more and more about them. However, a word of caution is due. All lasers are not created equal. Many of the lasers on the market and in use today are much too underpowered to be effective.

Low-power laser therapy has been around for years. These lasers produce less than one watt of power, and are not nearly powerful enough to penetrate deep tissues. To be effective, a therapy laser must have a minimum of 8 watts of power to penetrate all tissues. There are less than a handful of lasers on the market that are this powerful, and they’re much, much more expensive than their low-power counterparts.

The laser we use is the K-Laser Cube 4, which is a 15 watt laser. This is the most powerful therapy K-laser available today in either veterinary or human medicine today. In addition to being the most powerful laser available, it is also the only laser that uses four separate frequencies of laser light to stimulate tissues. Most of the other lasers on the market are either one or two frequency lasers. By using four distinct frequencies the Cube 4 can stimulate different tissues to do different things, and thus produce better results faster.