Laser heat application

Hi Ellie,

It really does depend on exactly what type of injury you are treating.

A laser used correctly in soft tissue injuries is unique in as much as it turns cells that would normally become scar tissue into healthy cells during the healing process.
However that does require using the laser twice daily while the injury is healing, and has a far less beneficial effect once scar tissue has formed.

Using heat alone in the process of healing the type of soft tissue (muscle) injury that would normally result in scar tissue formation will unfortunately result in more scar tissue forming, and therefore treatments with heat alone are best limited to simple strains and sprains.

However if the injury is in a bone surface, heat producing products in most (not all) instances are beneficial as they cause the body to produce more calcification and therefore a stronger healed bone.

Ultrasound treatments on soft tissue injuries produce less scar tissue than heat alone due to the fact that ultrasound causes internal vibrations that dissipates the body products that promote the forming of scar tissue.

Cheers,
Tom