Laser Therapy's Impact on Knee Injuries (ACL/PCL) in Chiropractic Care

Knee injuries happen often, especially for athletes. Imagine your knee popping and the pain overwhelming you. For severe injuries, surgery seemed the only effective treatment, but laser therapy is another alternative that can allow the body's healing powers to fix damaged knees faster.
 

Understanding Knee Anatomy 

The knee connects the lower and upper leg bones. Ligaments like the ACL and PCL cross inside to stabilize the joint. Yet, they can stretch too far and tear, causing pain or knee buckling. Cartilage and meniscus tears can happen, too. Severe ACL/PCL tears heal poorly, often needing surgery.
 

How Lasers Help Regeneration 

Laser therapy uses focused light to target the injured knee. The light provides energy that makes cells produce healing factors and ease inflammation. This kickstarts the regeneration of torn ligaments, cartilage, and other tissues. Treatments are comfortable and fast and enhance the body's repair capacities.
 

Consistency Over Time Matters 

The key to effective treatment is consistency using laser therapy. Patients go for brief sessions two or three times weekly. At first, this may seem frequent. However, each appointment works little by little to boost healing:
 

• Swelling goes down after treatment. Less inflammation means less pain, too. People feel looser walking out the door.
• Laser light spurs the growth of new blood vessels, which get more oxygen and nutrients down to the injured ACL or PCL site. A better supply makes tissues knit back stronger.
• Laser light triggers cells called fibroblasts to start making solid collagen strands. These bind torn ligament fibers back together. Handfuls of spaghetti-like ligaments suddenly become strong cables again.
• When ligaments heal poorly, small forces can easily re-rip weakened sections. Consistent laser therapy ensures tissues integrate well, lowering future injury risks with activity.

Laser therapy works well alongside other approaches, such as:
 

• Chiropractors reposition joints with careful thrusts. Getting realignment right between bones takes the pressure off irritated ligaments.
• Massage therapists release tight quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves after knee trauma. This allows softer tissues to move better without pulling.
• Physical therapists prescribe targeted leg lifts and other nonimpact movements. These exercises help keep muscles supportive as ligaments mend.
• Nutritionists ask their patients to consume ingredients that aid tendon repair. These include protein, vitamin C, and zinc, which fuel the healing process.

It is a total package that gets patients back to full speed. In some cases, single treatments alone might work. But combining them leverages the body's mechanics for stronger knees following treatment. 
 

The Future Looks Brighter 

Studies suggest laser therapy's benefits for common knee injuries which includes evidence that ligaments can heal well without surgery. Most importantly, laser treatment alone returns full knee strength and function. In most cases, patients do not need grafts.
 

Knee injuries are not hopeless sentences. Today's innovative solutions transform prognoses. Laser technology can kickstart the body's healing powers to revive torn joints. Ask your chiropractor or physician about these new therapies. You do not need to live with lifelong pain. They may unlock curative capacities you never knew existed inside. Combined with adjustments and targeted exercises, laser therapy might guide your knee back from the brink.  
 

For more on laser therapy, visit Atlantic Chiropractic Associates at our offices in Milford, Georgetown, or Lewes, Delaware. Call (302) 309-9900 to book an appointment today.