Laser therapy: an overview

This tutorial lecture will cover: · The medical uses of laser therapy · The clinical role of laser therapy in the stimulation of tissue repair and regeneration, using wound healing as an example · The stages involved in these processes, concentrating on the cellular changes which result in healing · The effects of laser therapy on cells necessary for successful healing · The cellular mechanisms producing these effects. Laser therapy can involve the use of either high or low power lasers. High power lasers produce clinically significant thermal changes in biological tissue; in contrast, the action of low power lasers is predominantly nonthermal.