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What is Light Therapy for Dogs?

What is Light Therapy for Dogs?

Infra-red light therapy can make a huge difference to your dog if they have had an injury or operation, are suffering from a chronic, degenerative musculoskeletal condition like arthritis or hip dysplasia, have dermatological issues, or even just need a bit of comfort for their creaky aging joints.

Light therapy is non-invasive, simply buy a wrap or device that contains LEDs and fix to the limbs or around the torso.

How Does Light Therapy Work for My Dog?

Red (633nm) and Infra-red (830nm) light are able to penetrate through skin, reaching cells within the body and generating an anti-inflammatory response from these cells. 

Red light can penetrate 5-10mm into the skin, reaching capillaries and superficial muscles. Red light on its own is more beneficial for issues that are on the skin’s surface e.g.skin healing or wounds. Infra-red light is able to go deeper and reaches up to 2-5 centimeters. This means it can reach muscles, joints, and bones.  This makes it suitable to use infra-red therapy for dog joint pain, for example. 

Infra-red therapy works because, in response to the light, the cells receive energy. They absorb light through light-sensitive molecules called chromophores. The chromophores are found in the mitochondria, which are the components responsible for the cell’s energy production. This stimulates the cells to produce ATP, the unit of energy that cells use for all their functions. This increased ATP allows cells to rebuild more efficiently and this is what speeds up healing.

The light also has other effects that help the cells work better. 

  • Vasodilation - where the blood vessels widen - helps blood circulate more freely, which means better oxygenation and nutrition to the cells, but also the removal of cell waste faster.
  • Reduces inflammation - the production of pro inflammatory cytokines, which cause inflammation and swelling, is reduced. 
  • Collagen production stimulation - the protein collagen which repairs skin, tendons, and ligaments, is increased by exposure to redlight.
  • New capillary production - new capillaries are formed (angiogenesis) in response to redlight, which helps tissue regeneration.
  • Pain relief - endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers, are released by the red light. The red light also stimulates certain neural pathways which work to block pain.

Infra-red light therapy can be used by itself, or you can also use it alongside physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture etc.

What Benefits Does Light Therapy Give?

Light therapy is such a good idea for your dog if they’re suffering from anything related to the musculoskeletal system (e.g. muscle sprains, strains or tears, arthritis, hip or elbow dysplasia, IVDD, bone fracture etc), gum or dental issues, dermatological issues, a wound on the skin, are post-operative, or even if they’re just generally feeling a bit creaky and old.

The infra-red light therapy will work to activate your dog’s own natural pain relief, and accelerate healing. It therefore offers respite from degenerative conditions such as dysplasias or arthritis. 

The benefits are that your dog will feel more energised, with improved mobility. If your dog is recovering from surgery or an injury, you can expect quicker healing times with reduced pain and inflammation.

Can I Use Light Therapy At Home?

Yes! The technology has become available to dog owners to use at home. You can either decide to use the HEALED Pain Relief Wrap which is great if your dog has sore joints because of arthritis, an arthritic wrist, hock or elbow. You fix the wrap around your dog’s carpus, hock, or elbow and the session is 10 minutes long. You can do treatments up to 3 x 10 minute sessions a day. The wrap has a timer to ensure the right dose of time.  If your dog has particularly long, shaggy fur, then the advice is to do a 20 minute session to ensure it’s penetrated through.

If your dog needs treatment in a hard to reach area, or you need the flexibility to be able to treat different areas of the body then the Photizo VetCare handheld device will be the best option. This has been designed to be easy to use. You can buy one that is silent and doesn’t have any beeps to startle your dog, if your dog is sensitive to noise.

How is Light Therapy Different from Laser Treatment?

The similarity is that both use light but the way that the light is harnessed, and the depths to which it penetrates, are very different.

Light therapy via LEDs uses a spectrum of light that’s broad and diffused. Basically, this means that the light is spread over a larger surface area (and penetrates less deeply). The light is delivered gradually, by quite a low power. The nature of this light means it’s good for generalised problems.

Laser therapy focuses the light into a concentrated, coherent beam. All the light waves are travelling in the same direction, in a very tight and focused manner, so that they can be precisely targeted. Laser beams can reach deep through the layers of the body. Laser light is delivered with higher power levels than LEDs so treatments are more intense. For this reason, lasers are used for more advanced conditions.

How regularly can I use light therapy on my dog?

Each device will have its own guidelines. 

The HEALED Pain Relief Wrap

Prescribes 3 x 10 minute sessions a day.

The Photizo VetCare

  • Single dose for skin conditions
  • Single dose for superficial muscle/tendon/ligament issues
  • Single dose for deep muscle/tendon/ligament issues
  • Single dose for joint and bone problems

How often you should give these single doses is dependent on what stage the injury or condition is at.

ACUTE

  • Start treating the injured area once daily for 10 days.
  • If your dog is still in pain or discomfort, then:
  • A single dose two to three times a week
  • In cases of acute pain, treat twice a day for 2-3 days and then revert back to once a day for 10 days.

CHRONIC AND OVERUSE

  • Treat affected areas once daily for 5-7 days; thereafter revert to treatment two to three times a week for up to 3 weeks. 
  • If some discomfort is still noticeable, revert to treatment once a week. 
  • It’s recommended that you refer your dog to the vet If the problem persists for further evaluation

WOUNDS (lacerations, hyaloma tick bite necrosis, hot-spots, abscesses, saddle sores, habronema, proud flesh, acral lick granulomas, bruising, otitis externa, pyoderma, pododermatitis, skin allergies, eczema, etc.)

Acute injuries: Start treatment as soon as possible to stimulate cell repair. Treat all acute skin injuries daily until healed.

BRUISING AND HEMATOMAS: 

Start treatment as soon as possible after the injury occurs. Cover the whole affected area. If there’s swelling (edema) present, also treat the proximal lymph nodes. This will help faster drainage of waste products. Treat daily until healed. 

POST-OPERATIVE: 

Treat directly after surgery, especially surgery on horses. Treatment will help with the prevention of proud flesh formation. Treat daily for five (5) to ten (10) days. Treatment benefits include pain relief, faster healing, less scar tissue/proud flesh formation, immune stimulation and swelling reduction

It is possible to overtreat your dog. If this happens, it will cause overstimulation and delay healing (inhibitory effect). 

Dogs who have epilepsy, cancer, or are pregnant should NOT use LED Infra-red therapy.

If your dog is on medication, check with your vet that it doesn’t cause light sensitivity as a side effect.

NEVER look directly at the emitted lights in any infra-red therapy device.

These devices should never be used anywhere near water as they aren’t waterproof.

Light Therapy for Dogs - How Does it Work and Help My Dog

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