Cold laser treatment, providing activity-related pain relief and speeding healing in working animals like horses and sled dogs, has proven effective enough that it's also used in less-active dogs and cats. Cold laser therapy enhances both traditional and alternative canine medical treatments.
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History
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Introduced in 1960 and tested throughout the 1970s, cold or low-level lasers first treated wounds. The more sophisticated technology of the 1990s made cold laser treatment useful for other conditions.
Uses
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Cold lasers most commonly treat canine arthritis, strained or sprained muscles and ligaments, and other muscle or skeletal injuries, according to Integrative Pet Care.
How It Works
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Cold laser therapy targets tissues on and beneath the skin with red or infrared beams of concentrated light. These low-level lasers stimulate collagen production and repair damaged blood vessels, to speed healing and create stronger new tissue.
Other Benefits
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Exposure to the cold laser beams will increase your dog's production of endorphins, his body's natural pain-relieving hormones. This might allow you to decrease his other pain medication.
Warning
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Dogs that are pregnant or suffering from malignant tumors aren't acceptable candidates for cold laser treatment. The treatment stimulates growth of all cells it reaches, including fetal and cancerous ones.
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