Laser Treatment: Not Just for Heel Pain

The MLS laser system is one of the most advanced treatment tools available at our office.

And because heel pain happens to be the most common symptom our patients struggle with—and MLS laser is such a good treatment option for most causes of heel pain—those two things have tended to become strongly associated with one another.

Hey, that’s fine. We want people to think laser therapy when they have heel pain. It’s a great option.

But the MLS laser system is capable of so much more. In fact, this technology can be applied to a very wide variety of painful conditions and situations.

One System, Many Applications

So what are some of the most common examples of how we use this technology for things other than heel pain? Here is a short, incomplete list:

Other sources/areas of chronic soft tissue pain.

Perhaps the most well-known function of the MLS laser is its ability to relieve pain and induce healing in soft tissues (tendons, muscles, ligaments, etc.) that have become irritated or fatigued.

This is, of course, why the treatment works so well for heel pain, as most conditions that cause it are some form of irritated soft tissue (fasciitis, tendinitis, arthritis, etc.). But it works just as well for chronic soft tissue pain in other parts of the body, too—ankles, knees, hip, shoulder, neck, etc.

Traumatic soft tissue injuries

What if your pain isn’t “just” a chronic ache? What if it’s the result of a sudden, traumatic injury such as an ankle sprain or ruptured Achilles tendon?

The good news is that MLS laser therapy can help you here as well. Traumatic injuries really aren’t so different from chronic overuse injuries. The damage may be more severe, and caused by a big and sudden impact rather than lots and lots of tiny impacts over and over. But we’re still dealing with torn, irritated tissue that needs to repair itself.

When added to a standard treatment and recovery plan for a traumatic soft tissue injury such as an ankle sprain, MLS laser therapy can reduce the overall recovery time by 40 percent or more!

Neuropathic pain

One of the most exciting and potentially revolutionary applications of laser therapy is for people with peripheral neuropathy.

Because of the way the laser helps reduce inflammation and boosts circulation and metabolism, nerves that were under pressure can start to get a much better supply of oxygen and nutrients, while flushing out toxins and waste products more efficiently.

Many people suffering from neuropathic pain can reduce or even eliminate their reliance on medications, and even regain some nerve function, after a treatment course with the MLS laser.

Alongside surgery

Normally, MLS laser therapy is thought of as an alternative to surgery, especially for chronic conditions. For many people with pain that just won’t go away, MLS is able to help them achieve full healing when nothing else could, making surgery completely unnecessary.

However, in situations where surgery still is necessary, MLS laser therapy can be a great additional benefit. Administration of laser therapy to the surgical site can help significantly reduce post-surgical pain, increase the speed of wound healing and recovery, and even prevent the formation of scar tissue.

Wound healing

As you might imagine after reading the above section, it isn’t just surgical wounds that can benefit from MLS laser therapy. We can also use the device to help with healing other types of wounds more quickly, including diabetic wounds or venous stasis ulcers. As with surgical wounds, benefits include faster closure and less scar formation.

Advanced Care for All Your Foot and Ankle Needs

The use of advanced technologies and therapies, such as the MLS laser, is one of the reasons we are able to get consistently remarkable results for our patients at the Community Foot Clinic of McPherson.

For more information about MLS laser therapy, how it works, and what it can be used for, please feel free to read our service page on the device. There’s a lot more great information there!

And if you’d like to schedule an appointment with us so we can fully evaluate your condition and offer the most effective treatment plan we can, please give us a call at (820) 241-3313 today. We have offices in McPherson, Herington, and Hillsboro, and we look forward to the opportunity to serve you!