Experiment with High-intensity laser therapy that didn’t go quite as expected

Experiment with High-intensity laser therapy that didn’t go quite as expected.

[Jonathan] – This is Damien. And we’re going to do a bit of an experiment. He’s got two tennis elbows. So we’re only going to treat one, and we’re gonna treat it a number of times, and we’re just gonna see what happens, and have the other one as a bit of a comparison. So how long have you had the tennis elbows?

[Damien] – About 12 months.

[Jonathan] – 12 months, alright. From what cause, from doing anything repetitively, or?

[Damien] – Well, it was from weights, initially, and then I remember there was one defining moment that I’d done a considerable amount of laborious work in the backyard, tiling and after that day, both elbows, both arms had suffered since.

[Jonathan] – Flared up

[Damien] – And it hasn’t fixed itself after 12 months.

[Jonathan] – So can you make a fist? And just push back a little bit. Okay how does that feel through there?

[Damien] – Yeah, so I get it through here, this part of my arm.

[Jonathan] – Yeah, okay, that’s it. Alright, that’s the extensor tendon. So I’ll turn this on. Now the only danger with laser is your, you can’t look at it, like any laser. It’ll damage your eyes. You’ve got to wear these funky glasses and so have I. Alright.

10 minutes later

[Jonathan] – Okay, and that is it. 10,000 joules. How does it feel?

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – Warm?

[Damien] – Yeah, warm and like I can move it a little bit better. Yeah.

[Jonathan] – Alright, well, let’s give it a go and in a few days see how it is.

[Damien] – Okay.

[Jonathan] – Cool.

[Damien] – Thank you.

[Jonathan] – So this is the second treatment for Damien for his tennis elbow. So, any change yet?

[Damien] – Not as yet, no.

[Jonathan] – Nothing yet. Alright, we’re gonna give him a slightly bigger dose today. We’ve got a bigger machine today, four times the size. So the dose is gonna be about double what we did last time. Okay. You’ll feel the heat there, yes?

[Damien] – Yeah, I can feel it.

[Jonathan] – It’s a lot hotter than the other one, isn’t it.

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – So the treatment’s gonna be a lot quicker.

3 minutes later.

[Jonathan] – Okay, so that’s all done, so how’s it feel?

[Damien] – Yeah, great. It’s nice and warm and easy to move and I can’t feel any pain right now, that’s for sure.

[Jonathan] – Okay, great. Well, we’ll try it and see what it’s like next time. Give it a few days.

[Damien] – Okay, great.

[Jonathan] – Alright, Damien, so treatment number three. How’d it go after treatment number two?

[Damien] – Treatment number two felt good when I left, but I found a small difference two or three days after that, and while doing a few lift checks, when I first started before the treatment, I had a similar amount of pain in both arms. And by doing those same checks and find that, yes, there’s still pain, but it’s a lesser amount of pain than using my right. So, something must be working.

[Jonathan] – Heading in the right direction.

[Damien] – Yeah, for sure.

[Jonathan] – Pop these on. We will get to the other arm at some point.

[Damien] – It’s good.

[Jonathan] – A good comparison.

[Damien] – Absolutely, because, you know, if I didn’t have that comparison, I’d say there’s still pain in there. But now that I know there’s a difference, you know, then I know it’s working or something’s happening.

[Jonathan] – Okay. Treatment number three done.

[Damien] – Fantastic.

[Jonathan] – Give it a week.

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – And we will check it again.

[Damien] – Thank you.

[Jonathan] – See you next week.

[Damien] – Okay.

[Jonathan] – So, how’re you doing, Damien?

[Damien] – Well, thanks.

[Jonathan] – Is this number three or number four?

[Damien] – This will be four.

[Jonathan] – Four, okay, alright. I haven’t asked you yet how your elbow is.

[Damien] – It’s noticeably better. I can, hand on heart, say I’m actually feeling a difference. It’s not, I mean, I still have pain. But comparing it to the second one, I can definitely notice it, so yeah.

[Jonathan] – Alright, we’re on the right track.

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – Out of ten, you know, like you said it was, what would you say if the elbow is zero and completely gone a hundred percent.

[Damien] – So I’d probably say we’re tracking around, so 30%, I’d say 30% better.

[Jonathan] – 30% better.

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – Right, okay. We’re getting there.

[Damien] – Yeah. Like I said, I mean, I could not lift anything, you know, in that motion, whether it was, you know, three kilos or– you know, it was like the pain that came down there. Now I’m not getting that. Now it’s still painful, I can still feel it, but, you know, I can do it now, whereas before I couldn’t.

[Jonathan] – Okay, that’s good, alright. Well, you’ve got glasses, here we go. Now believe it or not, this is a bit of a slow one. I would have expected you to be 60 or 70% better by now.

[Damien] – Yep.

[Jonathan] – But it’s still working. They’re all different. It depends on the, you know, level of injury. But as long as we are heading in the right direction. How are you going, Damien?

[Damien] – Good, thanks.

[Jonathan] – Very good. So how’s the elbow going?

[Damien] – Yeah, this top part of the arm is, you know, a lot better than it was from last week even. And no, I tested it while doing some weights a few days ago, and yeah, there’s a big difference between the two arms.

[Jonathan] – Okay.

[Damien] – So yeah …

[Jonathan] – So compared to the other arm, if the other arm is a zero and completely fixed would be a hundred percent, what is this arm?

[Damien] – Oh, I think it’s probably around 60% now, 65, 70, around those marks. You know, I still do have a bit of pain down this part of the arm but yeah, where you’ve been concentrating the laser on the top part, seems to be good.

[Jonathan] – So there’s a bit in this area here?

[Damien] – Yeah, that’s it, right there.

[Jonathan] – Right in there.

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – Okay. And if you’d just, just gently pull your hand up as if you’re using your bicep. Okay, relax. So it’s in there?

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – Okay, alright. So, we’ve actually got two problems. It’s just where the bicep attaches to your forearm there, that class of tendons has a little bit of trauma in it as well. So what we’ll do is we’ll bring the laser around. So this bit’s feeling good.

[Damien] – This bit’s great on top.

[Jonathan] – Okay, alright, well that’s the tennis elbow. What we’ll do, we’ll do this but we’ll also do a little bit around the biceps as well.

[Damien] – Okay, yep, right.

[Jonathan] – All set.

[Damien] – Just keep my arm like that?

[Jonathan] – Yes, just keep your arm like that and I’ll move around. Just if it gets a bit warm, let me know.

[Damien] – Yeah.

[Jonathan] – Very good. Alright, all done.

[Damien] – Thank you.

[Jonathan] – Until next time, maybe early next week.

[Damien] – Yep.

[Jonathan] – Give you another go.

[Damien] – Fantastic, thank you.

[Jonathan] – How’s it doing?

[Damien] – Very well. So the top part of my arm, which you diagnosed as the tennis elbow, I would say is more or less fixed.

[Jonathan] – Right.

[Damien] – It’s only now down here where I think you indicated it’s another–

[Jonathan] – The biceps.

[Damien] – Bicep injury, so that’s still giving me trouble but this part, I can lift anything right now, no problems.

[Jonathan] – Okay, good. Alright, well, let’s do another one and we’ll just focus on there.

[Damien] – On this part, yeah.

[Jonathan] – And just let me know if this is too hot. What we want to do next time is start on your other arm.

[Damien] – Okay, yeah.

[Jonathan] – Just give this a top off. Good.

[Damien] – Beautiful.

[Jonathan] – Alright, well, I’ll see you next time.

[Damien] – Okay, thanks.

[Jonathan] – Where are we up to with your tennis elbow and then the biceps?

[Damien] – So the bicep, as I discussed a couple of sessions ago, is pretty raw, pretty tender. After the last two sessions, I can honestly say there’s been a huge improvement in that. The tennis elbow is virtually gone. And I’m probably at, you know, 80, 90% with it, so it’s very good.

[Jonathan] – Alright. Okay, well, today we’ll treat both and we’ll just circle back after that one, hopefully, when that one gets fixed, after that one gets fixed.

[Damien] – Okay, great.