Laser therapy revitalises pets suffering arthritis

An increasingly popular service delivered by the nursing team at Kingsway Veterinary Hospital is K-laser therapy. It may sound like something futuristic, conjuring visions of Star Wars, but this form of treatment has been around in the veterinary world since it was approved by the Food & Drug Administration in 2002.

Ideal for senior pets who are suffering from stiffness and pain from arthritis, cold laser therapy, or photobiomodulation, can give those older animals a new lease of life.

Kingsway are using one of the most effective laser devices on the market, the K-Laser cube 4. As well as benefitting patients with arthritis, the Kingsway team also use K-laser treatment to help animals with recovery from trauma, surgery and infections.

Delivered by Veterinary Nurse Natalie Wilson, the treatment works by applying infrared and near-infrared light to the painful areas. This helps healing by reducing swelling and reducing pain.

As well as being painless, the treatment is non-invasive and has virtually no side-effects.  Administered alongside or often providing an alternative to conventional surgery and anti-inflammatory drugs, it is relatively inexpensive by comparison, despite requiring specially trained skills to apply the laser hand piece correctly and keep it moving.

Wearing special glasses to protect her eyes from the light, Natalie reports that pets often appear to enjoy receiving K-laser treatment too, as the sensation of gentle warmth and tingling where there is discomfort is quite soothing for them and the process stimulates the release of endorphins.

A few sessions are generally recommended, during which the laser encourages the cells in the affected area to release particular enzymes responsible for their repair.  In doing so it reduces pain and inflammation as it improves the flow of blood to the site and thereby increases the rate of cell division and tissue repair.

Used on a wide variety of patients at Kingsway, laser therapy has been particularly useful in assisting older dogs that have begun to suffer with arthritis, or animals that are on long term pain relief. Although dogs are the most commonly treated patients, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and a wide variety of other species can also benefit from laser therapy.