Equine Case Study- Wound Healing and Class IV Laser Therapy
I have recently been treating a lovely young event horse, who had an accident with the arena gate. This left a rather nasty wound! Luckily, the position of the wound meant that the key structures of the hind quarters had been avoided on impact. However, the wound was about an inch deep and not able to be stitched. The horse’s owner got in touch with me to see if my K-Laser could help with the healing process. My answer was ‘Yes!’ and I think the photos below speak for themselves. In total, the horse received 6 treatments, initially twice a week for the first two weeks and then once a week for the second two weeks. At the final treatment, I was able to see that new hair was begging to grow and was significantly reduced. The horse is now happily out competing again and doing well.
Before treatment 1: 27th August 2022
Before treatment 2: 29th August 2022
Before treatment 3: 2nd September 2022
Before treatment 4: 6th September 2022
Before treatment 5: 13th September 2022
Before treatment 6 (and my last visit) 21st September 2022
But how does it work?
I get asked this a great deal when I use my laser. For those of you who have seen me use it, you will notice I use it for many different conditions- this is because it is a pretty versatile piece of kit and I achieve slightly different results depending on the setting I use, the length of time I use it for and, for some conditions, where I use it in the treatment sequence. For example, I might have a horse who is particularly sore in an area and, by using the laser to achieve an analgesic effect, I can help them to relax enough to be able to apply manual therapies.
My Laser is a Class IV Laser, which means it is pretty powerful (hence the goggles!) and means that I have to continually move it over an area to prevent burning the tissue underneath. Not all lasers are this strength and that is why you might sometimes see lasers being held in one spot for a few seconds. I chose to invest in a laser of this strength because it allows me to transfer a greater amount of energy to the tissue.
It has three wavelengths. Again, I chose this because each wavelength targets a different tissue/has a different purpose:
· 660 nm Melanin, which is contained within skin, absorbs this wavelength well, meaning that a large amount of energy can be absorbed by the superficial tissue layers. It is this wavelength which I relied on to heal the wound referred to above and to help regulate the scar tissue (meaning it is of greater quality than without laser intervention). The laser is so good at wound healing because it inhibits bacterial proliferation (meaning it keeps the wound clean) and increases cellular growth, helping it to heal.
· 970nm This wavelength is well absorbed by the blood, which is the body's main transport system to move oxygen around the body. This oxygen is required for cellular metabolism and to remove waste. The laser increases the circulation of the blood, meaning that oxygen is delivered more quickly and waste removed more efficiently. When the blood absorbs this wavelength, there is also a rise in temperature, which increases temperature at a cellular supporting cell activation. The increase in temperature and circulation is what provides the analgesic effect, as well as reducing oedema.
· 800nm Research suggests that there are certain enzymes which are best absorbed at 800nm. One of these enzymes is called Cytochrome C oxidase, which plays a role in the respiratory chain and determines how efficiently cells convert molecular oxygen into ATP. ATP is an organic compound which provides the energy required to drive many processes in living cells. The photons which are absorbed from the laser accelerates the conversion of oxygen, increasing the production of ATP and, as a result, increases cellular processes (such as healing).
If you'd like to find out more about laser therapy or if/how it might help your horse or dog, please feel free to drop me a message and I can provide further details.
Comments