Laser Treatments For Arthritis

[winnie]

We had Darcy and Bonny at the vet's office today for their annual exam and vaccinations. We told our vet about Darcy's "shakey legs". Her legs start shaking when she stands for more than a few seconds. This started when she hit the double digits. She also noticed that Darcy has arthritis in her spine and hips. The practice just got a laser that is supposed to help treat arhtitis. Our vet asked us if we'd be interested in adding Darcy to the laser study. She said that it wouldn't hurt, but might help. Plus, it's free for us. Darcy will laser sessions 2x per week for three weeks.

 

Just curious if anyone else has used laser therapy for arthritis. Has it helped?

Edited May 6, 2012 by winnie

[tbhounds]

Cold laser??? We tried it briefly at our clinic. Let's just say we ended up not purchasing the unit.

But, cant beat free- give it a try!

[winnie]

Cold laser??? We tried it briefly at our clinic. Let's just say we ended up not purchasing the unit.

But, cant beat free- give it a try!

 

Darn... that doesn't sound very encouraging. I'm not sure what type of laser it is. It's a portable unit though. Darcy didn't seem to mind the treatment today. All the visits/treatments are free. We'll continue with them and see what happens.

[Feisty49]

Hmm.. sounds interesting. Do you know why laser might work to achieve results and how will the results be measured?

[DocsDoctor]

Doc's having home visits at the moment from a physio, for a compressed disc space in his spine which seems also to have given him problems with his right hip - his x-rays certainly show a bit of arthritis in the area of the disc. She's a qualified vet (and human) physio who has lots of experience with greyhounds as she volunteers at our rescue. Anyway she has a portable laser unit which she used on him during her first visit last week. This was after she'd massaged and manipulated him, with him lying on his bed. She said it would help speed up the healing process. You need to protect your eyes, so we wore goggles and I put a scarf on him as a blindfold (could just have used my hand) and she used it a few times in the problem areas. It beeped each time you use it but he seemed quite unfazed by it.

 

He was certainly helped by her treatment - our vet was very pleased with the improvement to the feel of his back, and to his gait - but how much of that is down to the laser, as opposed to her skilled hands, I wouldn't care to say! My suspicion is that the laser on its own wouldn't do much, but that if you have the chance to try it for free and Darcy doesn't object, why not?

 

Doc's got another home visit booked in for this week and we have some physio exercises we do every day meanwhile. He is clearly a lot more comfortable - always wanting a wild game with his teddy bear!

[Guest dee]

Can anyone explain exactly how the laser therapy works? Is it used on humans? Never heard of it and am very curious.

[winnie]

Here are a few articles I found on it...

 

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I'll let you know if we see any improvement in Darcy over the next few weeks. Her "shakey legs" have become quite noticeable. We had many people asking us if she was cold or nervous when we had her at GIG. We just told them she was old. Other than the "shakey legs" Darcy is still quite a spitfire and loves going places.

[tbhounds]

Fwiw- my 10yr old has developed "shakey leg" too. I took her to a neurologist and she was diagnosed with essential nerve tremors. Has nothing to do with arthritis. Just thought I would throw that out there.

Keep us posted on her response to the treatments!

[winnie]

Fwiw- my 10yr old has developed "shakey leg" too. I took her to a neurologist and she was diagnosed with essential nerve tremors. Has nothing to do with arthritis. Just thought I would throw that out there.

Keep us posted on her response to the treatments!

 

Ah well... Darcy does have some lower spinal arthritis too. I guess I just assumed the two were related. The vet treated her lower back and hips with the laser.

[kikibean]

My friend did weekly treatments for one of her boys for about a year for arthritis in a front ankle. She swears it made a huge difference, he got so he wasn't limping at all on it.

 

We did 4 treatments on Rocky's leg when he had surgery to remove a tumor, but I don't know if it sped up the healing process or not. My vet charges $100 for 4 treatments, so we only did 1 round.

Edited May 7, 2012 by kikibean

[krissn333]

Sutra had laser therapy on his knees when he strained them. I can't recommend it enough-his first treatment I had to carry him into the office from the car, and he TROTTED out of the office on his own after his first treatment. Generally they do treatments in a "6-pack": 3 treatments the first week, 2 the second week, 1 the third week. Each treatment was about $34.

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

My vet called this week. She has a laser therapy machine on loan for a week to evaluate if she wants to buy it. Cobb and his arthritic foot will be her guinea pig. He's scheduled for 3 treatments this week.

[tbhounds]

Sutra had laser therapy on his knees when he strained them. I can't recommend it enough-his first treatment I had to carry him into the office from the car, and he TROTTED out of the office on his own after his first treatment. Generally they do treatments in a "6-pack": 3 treatments the first week, 2 the second week, 1 the third week. Each treatment was about $34.

Think you will see results quicker or at all with a soft tissue injury rather than arthritic changes.

I do think the OP should give it a try- sure can't hurt and could only help.

[HopeForHounds]

Can anyone explain exactly how the laser therapy works? Is it used on humans? Never heard of it and am very curious.

 

There are links above you can read.

 

I have had laser therapy at my chiropractor/massage clinic. I found when I was having the laser treatments on my shoulder and neck I didn't need regular massage. Adjustments were fewer too I am guessing because I wasn't hunching my shoulders due to pain.

[winnie]

We've only had two treatments thus far (vet is planning to do six in total). Darcy did seem to have a bit more endurance at Grapehounds VA this weekend. She still has her shaky legs, but primarily just her right leg and not her left. It's hard to get her to lay down at events. She always has to check out what is going on. She does seem to love going out though - don't think she'd be happy if we left her home.