Clinical use of low level laser therapy

CLINICAL FAILURES

No method is 100% successful in all cases. Failure using LLLT, with or without AP occurred in some cases, notably idiopathic lameness, cervical vertebral spondylosis and posterior paresis in old dogs. Other failures were due to misdiagnosis (carpal and sesamoideal chips not diagnosed in the early stages).

(a) Idiopathic hindquarter lameness in a setter

This show dog was lame at the walk but ran normally. He had been referred, after a conventional examination, by a colleague. No cause and no TPs were found. LLLT was applied for 8 seconds to BL11,23,25,28,67; GB30,34,44 (all bilateral) and to GV03. The dog had 3 sessions in 10 days, with AP needling added at the last session. There was no improvement.

(b) Human cervical vertebral spondylosis

A middle-aged lady with radiologically confirmed spondylosis requested AP-type therapy for chronic neck pain which had failed to respond to conventional therapy for more than 1 year. She had TPs in the supra-scapular, trapezius and cervical muscles. She received 3 sessions of LLLT on TPs plus neck points (GB20,21,34; SI03; ST38; Hand Point "Neck"), after which she self-administered transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for 1 month. There was an initial improvement, followed by a relapse to her original state. Many months later, she had a few sessions of neck manipulation (by an osteopath), a course of homeopathy and 7 or 8 sessions of needle AP (from a naturopath) without success. She still wore her cervical collar. Some years later, this lady attended a different osteopath, claimed great improvement following spinal manipulation and discarded the collar.

(c) Posterior paresis in old dogs

Two old dogs were presented with chronic paresis of the hind limbs. They had loss of deep pain sensation on compression of the toes were treated with LLLT plus AP needling, as for thoracolumbar disc disease. Their condition did not improve and treatment was terminated after 4-6 sessions.

(d) Carpal swelling in horses

One foal with carpal cold oedema had marked success with 5 sessions in 12 days. LLLT was applied locally + AP points for carpus + Ting points. The condition recurred (probably due to trauma) on day 14.

One horse in training developed carpal pain and swelling, with heat in the joint. LLLT (3 sessions over 12 days) gave no success. Carpal chips were removed surgically but the horse had to be retired from racing.

(e) Septic tendinitis (sesamoideal chips missed)

A horse with a severely infected tendon showed a dramatic reduction in the swelling after a few sessions of LLLT. The swelling returned later and sesamoideal chips were found on X-ray. The horse was shot.

(f) Arthritis of the fingers

Two women were treated for arthritis of the finger joints. One (middle-aged), with joint enlargement and stiffness (no pain) got LLLT every 1-2 days for about 8 sessions (local points + AP points LI04,11) There was no improvement. The other woman (elderly) got LLLT + electro-AP every 5-8 days for 6 sessions at similar points, plus BL11. Joint pain and stiffness were relieved greatly, but the joints remained enlarged.