Tennis elbow:

Also called lateral epicondylitis, is the inflammation of the tendon fibres that attach to the lateral epicondyle (outside bone) of the elbow. The tendons involved are responsible for attaching the muscles of the forearm that extend (lift) the wrist and hand to the elbow. This condition is often the result of overuse of the forearm muscles and are usually worsened by gripping and lifting objects.

At our clinic, we treat this condition in two ways:

1. Low Level Laser therapy: 

Laser therapy can help to hasten the recovery of both tennis by improving circulation to the area (angiogenesis), improving lymphatic drainage and increasing the production of serotonin and endorphins to manage pain. In addition to relieving the pain and inflammation of tennis and golfer’s elbow, laser therapy also increases cellular activity, thus facilitating the repair and improving the strength of the repaired tendons.

2. Active Release Therapy (ART):  ART is a hands on soft tissue treatment which treats the underlying causes of Cumulative Trauma Disorders.  The goal of ART is to:

• Restore optimal texture and motion.
• Restore the function of the soft tissue.
• Release any entrapped nerves or blood vessels.

This is accomplished through the removal of adhesions in the soft tissues through the application of specific ART motions.

For more information, please visit us at www.grandechiro.com or call 604-990-6676.

(Please note: Individual patients results varies)

Cold Laser Therapy for arthritis Pain

We have been using cold laser therapy at our clinic for several years now with great success…especially with arthritis patients. 

The cold laser therapy is a fantastic tool for not only arthritis, but other musculoskeletal conditions such as sports injuries, back and neck pain, Tennis elbow, plantar fascitis, and TMJ. Laser therapy is a great adjunct to chiropractic care and non-surgical spinal decompression therapy. In fact…we include cold laser therapy for patients with herniated discs.

I came across an excellent article entitled How does cold laser work for arthritis? that does a great job of explaining how and why cold laser works. Here is an excerpt:

Arthritis affects almost 70 million Americans. The most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease in which the cartilage wears away, and rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune inflammatory condition. Also, there are other conditions that fall under the “umbrella” of arthritis including bursitis, tendonitis, low back and neck pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and so on.

The common symptom of most forms of arthritis is pain. Pain develops as a result of multiple factors including inflammation with stimulation of neural peripheral pain sensors due to either biochemical factors such as cytokines or to mechanical factors- joint deformity. Arthritis pain may be accompanied by other problems including loss of range of motion and disability.

While medicines, injections, and surgery all have their place and are valuable, there is still a need for potentially useful adjunctive modalities that might speed up recovery and reduce pain faster.

Low level therapeutic laser, better known as phototherapy, is a relatively new form of treatment. Its premise is that certain wavelengths of light have effects on living tissue. This effect is termed “photobiomodulation.”

My Take: Cold laser therapy is a must have for any chiropractor, physical therapist, or sports medicine doctor that wants to offer the most advanced forms of treatment to their patients. Most professional sports teams use Cold laser therapy to speed up the healing process for musculoskeletal injuries, as do elite pain centers around the world. So do yourself a favor and find out if laser therapy makes sense for you.

For more information on Laser therapy, click here. To find out if you are a candidate for Laser Therpay or nonsurgical spinal decompression, please call 604-984-4601 or 604-990-6676.