Laser Therapy Is a Great Way to Address Nagging Tendinitis

The human body contains a whopping 4,000 tendons, tough connective tissues that attach bones to muscles to allow you to move. Some of the most common musculoskeletal problems include these tissues — 30% to 40% of sports injuries involve tendon problems, for example. And this only paints part of the picture, as non-athletes can also damage tendons.

So, whether you’re dealing with a painful shoulder because you do a lot of overhead painting or you’re a runner with Achilles tendon issues, in either case tendinitis has taken hold.

While there are many ways that the team here at Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas addresses sports injuries and tendon problems, we’ve had great success using advanced robotic laser therapy.

Here’s a look at how our innovative M6 MLS® (multiwave locked system) can play a role in helping to heal your tendons.

The many faces of tendinitis

Anytime you see the suffix “itis,” it refers to inflammation. In the case of tendinitis, this inflammation typically occurs due to overstressing the tissues. As a result, tiny tears can develop in your tendons that lead to inflammation, stiffness, and pain.

As we mentioned, a large chunk of sports injuries are related to tendinitis, which also explains the names of some of these injuries, such as:

• Tennis elbow, which affects tendons in the forearm
• Golfer’s elbow, which also affects tendons in the forearm
• Runner’s knee, which involves the patellar tendon
• Pitcher’s shoulder, which affects the rotator cuff

The largest tendon in your body — your Achilles tendon — is also often in the line of fire when it comes to tendinitis.

Treating tendinitis traditionally

Just as tendinitis develops over time, the issue requires time to heal. In most cases, conservative treatment options for tendinitis include:

• Rest
• Activity modification
• Steroid injections
• Anti-inflammatory medications
• Physical therapy
• Ice and heat therapies

These treatments all work well, but require a good deal of time and patience on your part.

Speeding healing in your tendon with laser therapy

In an ideal world, you’d be able to rest your damaged tendon for several weeks, giving it the time and space it needs to heal. But your world doesn’t allow for that — you can’t simply check out for a couple of weeks and binge watch TV.

This is one of the many reasons why we offer low-level laser therapy at our practice — we can speed up the healing process. Our M6 MLS® system delivers low-level laser energy that doesn't heat your tissues, but elicits a photochemical reaction in your cells.

Think of low-level laser therapy like photosynthesis — plants absorb energy from the sun and turn it into chemical energy to grow.

This same process occurs when we deliver low-level light energy into your damaged tissues — they absorb the light and use it as energy to relieve inflammation and create new cells. In using this laser therapy, we can help your tissues to heal more quickly and strongly.

And the best part? Our M6 MLS system is fast, easy, and completely non-invasive. 

So, if you’d like to get back to moving without pain, we strongly suggest that you come see us to figure out whether low-level light therapy can play a role in healing your tendinitis.

To get the ball rolling, please call or message one of our locations in Waco, Arlington, Wichita Falls, or Fort Worth, Texas, today to schedule an appointment.