Nothing here happens without a physician’s order, and the order sets the strength. It runs only while a physician is on site and immediately available.

What happens in a session?

A handheld laser is moved over the sore area. Your physician’s order sets which class of device is used, 3B or 4.

Why would your physician order it?

Cells in injured tissue absorb the light, and that energy helps settle pain and swelling. It is a useful add-on for tendons and joints that are slow to calm down, including shoulders, knees and hips being treated with injections or orthobiologics.

What will you feel?

Expect faint warmth or no sensation. You and your technician both wear protective eyewear matched to the device. The handpiece is never held still, and every 60 seconds you are asked about heat. The door stays shut, with a laser warning posted outside.

One-on-one: a technician is next to you from start to finish.

When is it ruled out?

• Never pointed toward the eyes, even with eyewear on
• Not over the thyroid, low on the front of the neck
• Not over a pregnant belly or lower back
• A tumor where the light would go
• Any medicine that makes you sunburn easily
• Over tattoos or dark moles before your physician checks them

Spoken safety questions open every visit. Any change since last time goes to the physician, who rules on it before the machine runs. Ask to stop whenever you want.

How much time to plan for

Plan on roughly 5 minutes an area; about 10 minutes total each time.

Related reading

• The painstl.com physiotherapy program, every station and test
• Shoulder pain
• PRP and orthobiologics
• Heat and cold therapy, another station
• Vibration therapy, another station
• Traction chair, another station
• Neck decompression, another station
• Shockwave therapy, another station
• TENS (gentle electrical stimulation), another station