After going through so much in recent months with stay-at-home orders, the desire to move is enormous for many of us.
And that’s a good thing! Steady physical activity, from walking to running to Ninja Warrior training in your backyard, is a big boost not only to your body’s health, but your mental and emotional well-being too. And when summer arrives (or the best time for the activities you love most), you don’t want anything to hold you back!
So if you run into a foot- or ankle-related sports injury, it can be particularly devastating to your ambitions. You’re now watching opportunities dwindle away as you recover—but recovery is still very important. Ignoring your body’s need to rest, and choosing to push through your pain instead, runs a high risk of further injury and longer-lasting trouble.
So you often do need to take time to recover safely—but that doesn’t mean there is nothing that can be done to help your situation. We have an advanced treatment at our office that can help patients shorten their overall recovery times for certain injuries, all by stimulating the body’s own natural reactions.
Pain Relief
We know. A laser might not be the first thing that comes to mind first when thinking of therapeutic equipment. But this is not a destructive “Death Star” laser, nor is it a superfluous little laser pointer.
We use the HyperBlue Plus laser at Freeland Foot & Ankle Clinic. It is a medical laser that can be precisely tuned to specific frequencies, then aimed at the site of an injury.
As the light energy passes through the body, it creates a disruption of sorts at the cellular level. This causes the body to respond in several positive ways:
- Cells are stimulated to conduct their work faster, and that includes repair work. In some cases, damaged cells that have previously “given up” trying to repair a chronic source of pain can be “restarted” to begin recovery again.
- Blood flow to the area is increased, which is important for providing the oxygen, growth factors, and other tools cells need to function well. The body can even form new capillaries to provide more efficient delivery routes to cells in need.
- Swelling can be reduced as increased blood flow also carries away more excess fluid.
- Pain can be reduced as local signals from nerves get blocked.
By reducing pain and inflammation, and improving natural recovery efforts, overall recovery time for a sports injury can be significantly reduced with laser therapy.
The treatment is typically conducted over a series of sessions spanning a number of weeks. Each session lasts about 15 minutes, during which the laser is attuned and applied to the site of the injury. The laser is not strong enough to burn or cause pain. In fact, most patients report little more than a sensation of warmth in the area.
The number of sessions required will depend on the type and severity of injury being treated. The good news is that the positive effects stack with successive treatments, and many patients report starting to feel positive results after the very first session.
What Types of Injuries Can Be Treated by Laser Therapy?
It doesn’t matter whether you are a pro, amateur, or hardly think of sports at all. If you have a painful soft tissue injury in the foot or ankle, our laser therapy may be able to help you.
- Common examples of injuries that can be recommended for laser treatment include:
- Ankle sprains
- Achilles tendinitis
- Joint pain
- Muscle pain
- Plantar fasciitis (and other causes of heel pain)
One thing that is important to keep in mind, however, is that laser therapy is not necessarily the instant top choice of treatment for every soft tissue injury you may have, including those listed above. Some cases may be better served by other forms of treatment, or by incorporating laser therapy alongside additional treatments.
The ultimate plan of action can only be best determined after a full evaluation of your foot or ankle, as well as discussing with you the full scope of the situation.
Let’s Get You Back in the Game
When it comes to sports injuries of all types, our goal will always be to get our patients back to full strength as quickly and as safely as possible – no exceptions.
Don’t let your pain and discomfort linger. The sooner you properly address the problem, the sooner you can reach the end of your recovery.
Schedule an appointment at our Freeland office by calling (989) 695-6788. If you prefer to reach out to us electronically instead, you can also fill out our online contact form and a member of our staff will respond to you during our standard office hours.