How can K-laser help your pet?
September 15, 2021What if we could tell you that we can help speed up your pet’s wound healing, relieve them of pain from arthritis, reduce swelling and more, all simply by using light? Sound too good to be true? Well, that’s where K-laser comes in.
K-laser is a type of Class IV laser, the most powerful on the market. Without getting too scientific, K-laser therapy utilises different wavelengths of light within the red and near-infrared spectrum to target affected areas of the body and achieve it’s success.
Long wavelengths can be used to travel into the deeper tissues, while shorter wavelengths are used for more superficial therapy. The frequency of the light can also be adjusted depending on area of interest – some cases will require a continuous application while others respond better to pulsed therapy where the laser is switched on and off repeatedly. The light energy provided by the laser is absorbed by the cells, which speeds up cell growth and repair and allows damaged tissue to recover by increasing the amount of oxygen available. In reality, we see this as a reduction in swelling, increased circulation, enhanced tissue repair and lower pain levels.
When you think about how K-laser works, you can begin to see how it can be employed to treat a variety of conditions
- Osteoarthritis or other joint pain
- Neck and back pain
- Hip dysplasia
- Oedema (fluid swelling)
- Sprains or strains
- Tendonitis
- Wound healing
- Burns
- Dermatitis
- Gingivitis
- Ear problems
- Surgical recovery
One of the major benefits of K-laser therapy is that it is quick, easy and completely painless. Once the wavelength, power and frequency have been selected, the handheld device is applied to the affected area and moved around over it, allowing the laser to penetrate the tissues. Dogs will usually just sit or lie on a blanket on the floor whilst the treatment is going on, and cats are often perfectly happy to sit in their basket with a bit of fuss. The laser causes a gentle warming effect to the area over which it is applied so most animals find it rather pleasant.
The length of each treatment depends on the reason for it but the majority of sessions will be less than 15 minutes long. An exciting bonus is that in many cases, an improvement may be seen after only one session, however as the effects are cumulative, a course of treatment is recommended. We will tailor this to your pet to ensure they will get the most benefit from the therapy. Initially we may need to see them 2-3 times a week but this will then be tapered as their condition improves. Some pets require a set course of treatment, for example after surgery, whilst some with longer term conditions may require ongoing periodic therapy sessions to keep their symptoms at bay.
K-laser can be easily used alongside other treatment modalities and won’t interfere with any medications. In some cases, particularly in older animals with osteoarthritis, it can even allow the animal to reduce anti-inflammatory or pain relief medications, or even come off them altogether.
Still not convinced? K-laser therapy is backed up by numerous human and animal scientific studies and can be found in use in hundreds of hospitals, universities and clinics around the world, including in over 200 veterinary settings in the UK alone. It has been in use since the 1970s and over the years has been fine tuned to produce the best possible results with no known side effects in animals.
We are very excited to now be able to offer this service to our clients, so if you think your pet may benefit from K-laser therapy, or if you simply want to know a bit more about it, please contact us for more information.
