It was with a painful knee injury that regular hockey and cricket player, Linda Taylor (36) first went for low-level laser treatment.
"I get hundreds of injuries and I've tried everything over the years - acupuncture, physiotherapy, chiropractic ... but now I would go for low-level laser therapy even above physiotherapy for an injury.
"I also suffer from tendonitis, get back pain and ankle strain from time to time, and I use low-level laser therapy for them all."
Bill Sharkey (58) suffered with the pain and immobility of a frozen shoulder for four months before he decided to try low-level laser therapy. "I was on anti-inflamatories for a week, but they upset my stomach. I didn't feel like having a cortisone injection into my shoulder, which is the conventional treatment. My dentist told me about a low-level laser therapist so I went.
"Initially, I didn't feel anything. Now, after six or seven sessions, I have 60 per cent of my arm movement back. I'd say it will take five or six more sessions. It's also up to me to use my shoulder more and get my exercises going again."
Taylor and Sharkey are two satisfied clients of Sue Wickham, one of a small number of low-level laser therapists working in Ireland.
Distinct from surgical laser treatment (which involves the use of thermal lasers in keyhole surgery or other lasers for eye surgery and other intensive medical procedures), low-level laser therapy is pain free.
"There is no heat whatsoever. It works through photobiostimulation. Monochromatic light energy close to the infra-red wavelength passes through the skin to a depth of three centimetres or so and stimulates the growth factor cells to repair tissue damage," says Wickham.
She explains that scientists, including Albert Einstein, first put together the properties that make up a laser probe. But the discovery of penicillin meant that research changed tack and went into antibiotics. In the 1960s, laser research began again, but it was not until the 1980s and 1990s did it become popular as a treatment.
Now, there is a growing body of research into low-level laser therapy in Sweden, Germany, Britain, Russia, Japan and Israel. Sue Wickham says the common conditions it can treat include muscle aches and pains, sports injuries, neck and back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, tensions headaches, migraine, Bell's palsy, sinusitus, MΘniΦre's disease and tinnitus. It is also a popular approach for stopping smoking cessation and is used as a treatment for skin conditions such as cold sores, acne, burns and scars.
Wickham uses a piece of equipment which has several different laser probes connected to it. Depending on whether the injury is chronic or acute and on or underneath the skin, she chooses the larger cluster probe or a smaller, single probe and decides the level of intensity of the laser (between 600 and 1,000 nanometres) to apply.
"I think movies like Star Wars gave lasers a bad name, and it takes a while to explain to people that low-level laser therapy won't hurt. I use the laser probe on the site of the injury and also on various acupuncture points to stimulate further healing," she explains.
Protective goggles are worn by the patient while receiving low level laser therapy; and the treatment is not recommended for anyone with cancer or those with skin photosensitivity. It is, however, considered safe for those with pacemakers, metal pins or plastic implants.
"It will slow down the action of steroids and anti-inflamatories," says Wickham. She adds that patients will experience a dull ache following treatment sessions as healing begins to occur.
Laser therapists do not make medical diagnoses but will work with the diagnosis given by your GP. "More physiotherapists are starting to use laser as part of their work and finding that it is the best form of electrotherapy," says Wickham. She completed a low-level laser training course in Britain and is currently working on a three-year part-time diploma in acupuncture.
Laser therapist, Sue Wickham works from the Laser Treatment Centre, Unit 4, Sandymount Village Centre, Dublin 4, tel: 01-6671085. Sessions cost £35 for the first visit and £25 thereafter.
See also www.estetik.com/soc_sci/emla, www.pol-us.net/LT_meet.html and www.omega-laser.co.uk