Laser therapy vs photonic red light therapy.

Allykat

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Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom regarding either of these therapies to help heal ligament damage?

Vets are wanting to do a course of laser therapy. A course is a minimum of 6 sessions. Someone has mentioned they have had good results with red light therapy. I've googled and both seem to have similar effects on cells and tissues but I don't personally know anyone who has used either.

Any experiences good or bad please.
 
I had laser therapy on a ligament, my equine physio was based on my yard at the time so I had a special deal, it certainly seemed to help as I was back on my foot far quicker than expected, cannot remember how many sessions I had but it was probably 5 or 6 days in the week after the injury had settled enough to treat, so would consider it for a horse but would probably use my physio rather than the vets to reduce the cost a bit and it would normally be easier to arrange firm appointments.
 
Thank you, that is very interesting to hear. I did my own ankle ligaments a couple of years ago but wasn't offered physio or anything so it just healed on its own but took ages.

Vets have said that a nurse can do the laser treatment so call out would be cheaper but it's still looking to be around £75 a session.

I might see if I can find a physio that can do it and compare costs. The more I'm reading the more I feel it's definitely worth a try.
 
I was lucky having been strapped up and told to rest my physio said she would take a look and she felt would benefit from the laser treatment, I probably wouldn't have paid for it privately or got it through the NHS but as she was here anyway she did it in exchange for part of her livery costs, I came out of it rather well and was fully mobile within about 2 weeks, far faster than I have with previous ankle strains yet it was far worse to start with and I was on crutches because I really couldn't weight bear.
 
Oh wow that was speedy healing! I was mobile on mine pretty much from the start but it took a good month for the swelling to go completely and around 3 months before I would say it had healed. Sounds like the laser is worth it then.
 
I used cold (red) laser on an injury just above the knee which was hugely swollen. I did it every night while he was eating tea with a little machine made by my OH to the same spec as the ones for sale on eBay. I could tell the days I missed, the swelling increased. He passed a five star vet without comment that it was even there (though it helped that the other knee got kicked the following year and matched!)
 
Thank you. I'm pretty convinced to give it a go. It certainly seems like it does do something to help.

Matching knees are the way forward. It's the horses own version of matchy matchy :- D
 
We’re currently considering laser therapy for a DDFT injury on OH’s horse. Vet at referral hospital said, for it to be effective, it has to be grade 4 laser, rather than the lower level ones physios etc use. We had a lower grade on a dog through another vet a couple of years ago and it had no effect at all.
 
I have just considered this very thought. I've been trawling through Google and Facebook this afternoon looking at local physio's and other therapists and most seem to list that they do low level light or laser therapy which then made me think there must be different grades. Vet one is probably best then.

Thank you.
 
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