What is laser therapy?

In small animal medicine, the term laser therapy commonly refers to low-level laser therapy (LLLT). This treamtent can assist with many conditions including post-surgical healing, acute post-surgical pain, and osteoarthritis. You may wish to consult your veterinarian regarding the potential advantages of laser therapy.

How can laser therapy help?

Osteoarthritis

Laser therapy can be used to provide a non-pharmacology solution to controlling osteoarthritis. This is particularly beneficial in geriatric patients with concurrent diseases as it reduces their depence on drugs. In published studies performed on client owned animals, almost an immediate positive effect was noticed after the first therapy session and pets were reported to appear to enjoy life more and showed increased general activity.

Post-surigcal healing

Laser therapy has been reported to improve post-operative pain and post-operative healing in animals with orthopaedic surgeries.

Reduced drug dependence for patients with osteoarthritis

Laser therapy may assist in reducing the drug dependency for patients with osteoarthritis. This is due to the additional analgesic effects the laser therapy provides. Generally, a review would be required approximately two weeks post the therapy session to assess whether this may be possible. In a 2020 study, approximately 80% of dogs with osteoarthritis that underwent laser therapy had their pharmacological analgesic agents reduced. In approximately 30% of the studied cohort, medications were suspended after two weeks post laser therapy.