(Newswire.net — June 28, 2020) — There is currently a lot of discussion in rehab circles surrounding light-based modalities’ efficacy and therapeutic potential. From licensed sports teams to separate practices, these technologies are starting to be used daily to treat injured tissue.
Light-based therapy applied to treat pain and inflammation can be delivered by both lasers and LEDs. Purchasers often want to understand the operational and therapeutic distinctions between them.
This is why I’m going to show you the key differences between LED Light Therapy and Laser Light Therapy for your better understanding. Before we move onto the comparison, let us get acquainted with the idea of light therapy.
What is Light Therapy?
Light therapy is a method to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder and other specific conditions by weathering to artificial light. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that happens at a particular time each year. It is usually seen in winter.
Through light therapy, you sit or work near a machine called a light therapy box. The receptacle gives off bright light that mimics natural, refreshing light.
Light therapy is believed to influence brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep, easing Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms. Using a light therapy box may also aid with other types of sleep disorders, depression, and other conditions. Light therapy is likewise known as phototherapy or bright light therapy.
LED Light Therapy VS Laser Light Therapy
Light therapy for skin is widely regarded around the world by doctors and specialists alike. The reason behind it is its effectiveness. Between these two kinds of light therapy, there are distinctions, especially when treating your skin. So, let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between the two.
Both laser and LED treatments rely on being able to deliver an adequate amount of energy to the target tissue to precipitate a photochemical process known as photobiomodulation. Photobiomodulation is a nonthermal process, including endogenous chromophores eliciting photophysical and photochemical events at various biological coverings.
Some affected methods include the alleviation of pain or inflammation, immunomodulation, and promotion of wound healing and tissue regeneration.
Both causes of light yield the same mechanism of action and are both commonly generated using diode technology. When practiced and analyzed in therapeutic applications, both LEDs and lasers are frequently built to emit similar wavelengths, both in the red or near-infrared spectrum.
They have been bestowed to have pain and inflammatory modulation properties. Significant differences among the two do subsist, however, including the power generated, the specificity of wavelength, and the physical aspects of the beam produced from the diode.
Treating Tissues or Skin
LED Light Therapy
LEDs typically emit light in a small band of wavelengths but cannot issue a single specified wavelength. This bandwidth changes their ability to dial in the wavelength to optimally target aspired tissues.
Moreover, LEDs provide neither a collimated nor consistent beam, which is less ideal when handling deeper tissues. LEDs work at significantly lower power than most laser devices, impacting their energy to reach deeper tissues in shorter windows of time. You can read the Celluma blog if you want more information about LED light therapy.
Laser Light Therapy
Laser light is unique in that it is coherent, monochromatic, and collimated. These features make it well-suited to many medical applications. The monochromatic way, or single wavelength for the beam, is ideal for animating chromophores in biological tissue that only counters to particular wavelengths.
Coherent photons are made where non-coherent photons are not. This property is essential to reduce photon scatter as light interacts with tissue. Since injured tissue usually resides deep in the body, the laser’s collimated beam supports focus energy in a narrow, direct path, which is ideal for treating tissues at depth.
Targeting Deeper Tissues
When trying to target deeper tissues, the wavelength is a crucial variable that can play a significant part in the light’s ability to puncture tissue. But it is not the only deciding factor in therapeutic effectiveness.
Power is a second variable that also performs a significant role in determining both the proper use and compatibility of outcomes for light-based therapies. Lasers are usually capable of delivering much higher powers than LEDs, which significantly affects their ability to reach deeper tissues.
This is due to the notion of therapeutic depth, which requires getting an adequate amount of photonic energy to damaged tissue to have a photobiomodulation effect.
Following a significant amount of light is lost as it passes through tissue, becoming more initial power at the exterior enhances the modality’s capacity to provide sufficient amounts of energy at depth.
For Therapy
For external uses, such as wound healing, therapeutic forces can be achieved with a minimum amount of energy implemented to the surface, for which LEDs are well befitted.
For more deep-seated or more wide-spread ailments, such as fibromyalgia or chronic low back pain, a more significant amount of energy must be delivered to achieve a sufficient therapeutic effect.
Knowing what kinds of damages will be treated with your light-based modality will influence which device will be most advantageous to the practice. LEDs often get a lot of initial attention because they are much more economical than laser technology.
Lasers used to treat deep tissue, however, give providers the most flexibility in terms of therapy capacities as they can be used to treat both external and deep conditions.