Managing a chiropractic office is a challenging task. As the doctor and practice owner, you are responsible for a myriad of personnel, regulatory and fiscal issues; and none of these should get in the way of excellent patient care.
What are your plans for practice growth in 2023? Are you leasing more space, adding staff, increasing your clinic hours? Are you considering adding products or services?
If you are considering adding a modality that is scientifically and clinically proven, delivers consistent results, and can be administered by your staff.1 and you are not offering laser therapy yet, now is the time. Doctors of chiropractic are in a unique position to offer this healing modality, as it complements the patient care already being delivered; and can facilitate improved pain relief, injury healing and patient satisfaction.
How Other Professions Are Using Laser Therapy
Before investigating how laser could work in your office, let's look at two interesting ways that other professions are utilizing laser therapy, or photobiomodulation (PBM).2 It is estimated that 40% of cancer patients undergoing standard chemotherapy may develop oral mucositis, and those receiving radiation, especially in the cases of head and neck cancer, have 30%-60% chances of developing mucositis.3
Photobiomodulation treatments delivered with a class 4 therapy laser were shown to result in "improving oral mucositis lesion healing, reducing the inflammatory burden, and preserving tissue integrity."4 Clinical practice guidelines now recommend PBM for the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis secondary to cancer treatment.5
A pilot study assessed the feasibility and efficacy of class 4 laser therapy on postoperative pain following a surgical procedure called "off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (OPCABG)." PBM was used as a component of multimodal analgesia (MMA) technique, which combines drugs and modalities with various mechanisms of action, striving for the most effective pain relief. It concluded that PBM with a class 4 laser can be an effective technique for postoperative analgesia.
What Can Laser Do for Your Patients?
These novel uses of PBM indicate its ability to aid in tissue healing and pain relief. But what can PBM do for the patients in your office?
Consider the patient dealing with upper- or lower-extremity trauma or sports injury. What is your current treatment plan? Ice and complete rest are shown to delay healing,6 so put away the ice cup and slings.
PBM for the treatment of acute and chronic musculoskeletal disorders is proven to provide pain control and improved tissue repair. Enhancing circulation (arterial and venous) promotes healing by regulating postinjury ischemia, hypoxia, edema, and secondary tissue damage. Laser therapy is shown to increase blood flow in the soft tissues, and improved circulation is considered one of its greatest benefits to soft-tissue healing after injury.7
Low back pain affects most individuals at some point in their lives. Up to one in 10 of cases will develop chronic low back pain (CLBP), which leads to high treatment costs, sick leave and individual suffering.8 Are chiropractic adjustments working to your and your patient's satisfaction?
Patients with chronic low back pain treated with PBM have significantly reduced low back pain, reduced disability, and improved range of motion, and the positive effects are maintained for several months.9
Safe, Effective, Painless and Noninvasive
Therapeutic lasers have been FDA cleared as prescription class 2 medical devices10 for more than 20 years.11 The complex mechanisms of photobiomodulation are becoming well-understood, with significant advances in recent years.12-13
A significant advance in photobiomodulation science was the recognition that optimization of parameters should be based on the dose reaching the target tissue, which often requires higher doses of light at the skin surface to reach deeper tissues.14
Photobiomodulation is a painless, non-invasive treatment that can be used in the treatment of most clinical conditions in the chiropractic office. Treatments can reduce acute and chronic pain associated with conditions as varied as low back pain, chronic osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, knee injuries, pain in the shoulders and postoperative pains.15
In other words, your strategy for practice growth in 2023 should include the addition of laser therapy equipment.
References
When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
It is estimated that 61% of patients with CTS avoid taking surgical options due to postoperative complications and costly surgical procedures. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive and effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, addressing the condition from multiple angles. Recent studies also have unveiled a game-changing adjunct to chiropractic treatments for CTS: nerve flossing.
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
