A physician at Back Pain STL examines your back, decides whether this belongs in your plan and writes the order. A trained technician carries it out exactly as written. Nothing starts unless a physician is in the clinic and free to come to you right away.

What is it?

Your technician moves a Class 3B or Class 4 therapy laser over the painful area, as your physician orders. Each area gets about 5 minutes.

How does it help a sore back?

Irritated facet joints, strained muscles and the sore tissue around the sacroiliac joint are often swollen and tender. The light energy is taken up by cells in that tissue and helps settle pain and swelling.

It is one tool among several. On a back visit it often follows heat and traction and comes before TENS.

What does it feel like?

Some people feel mild warmth; many feel nothing. Both you and the technician put on goggles rated for that laser. The handpiece never stops moving, and each minute you are asked if the warmth is too much. The room door stays shut and carries a laser warning sign while you are treated.

One-on-one. For the full session your technician stays at your side, logging the exact minute it begins and ends.

Who should not have it?

• Pregnancy, if the area is the belly or low back
• Cancer in the treated area
• A tattoo or dark mole there, until your physician has decided
• Any medicine that makes your skin sensitive to light
• The thyroid gland in the neck
• The eyes: the beam is never pointed toward them, goggles or not

Your technician reads the safety questions out loud before every visit. If your answers have changed, the physician decides before anything starts. You can ask to stop at any point.

More on this site: lumbar facet syndrome, sacroiliac joint pain.

Other treatments in the program

• Heat or cold
• Vibration platform
• Traction chair
• Shockwave therapy
• TENS

This page is part of our physiotherapy program for back pain, where a physician orders, supervises and re-checks every step.