The summer season influences the composition of diagnoses for which patients come for laser therapy. Summer brings increased physical activity in the form of gardening, cottage maintenance, or recreational sports activities. This leads to both overloading of the musculoskeletal system and minor sports injuries.
The most common problems with overloading the musculoskeletal system are back pain, neck pain, or headaches. Frequent complaints include feelings of fatigue or exhaustion. In more severe cases, there’s painful activation of chronic disorders, especially of the spine, ranging from spondylosis to herniated discs. The strain on the lower limbs, primarily from walking, activates pain in the ankle and foot joints. The pathological cause is flat feet, shortened calf and thigh muscles. Another reason for visiting our Laser Therapy clinic is heel pain. The source of pain is the affected muscle tendon attachments. Most often, it’s enthesitis (from the Greek ‘entheson’ = muscle attachment), which is inflammation of the periosteum at the attachment site. With long-term duration, ossification (bone formation) of the attachment occurs. On an X-ray, the ossification resembles a rider’s spur, hence the term ‘heel spur’ = Calcar calcanei for the terminal stage of inflammation. A painful attack causes a faulty walking pattern in the form of limping, which adversely affects the coordination of individual muscles. Uncoordinated muscle activity is a source of non-physiological stress on weight-bearing joints and the spine, manifesting as pain and later degenerative restructuring of joints and spine. Hence, the saying that flat feet can cause headaches becomes a reality. The faulty walking pattern also affects overall posture. Inefficient muscle overload is a source of feelings of fatigue to exhaustion, cramps, and increased muscle tension. Long-lasting chaining of pathological conditions creates a vicious circle that needs to be eliminated by timely treatment.
Among minor injuries, we most often encounter sprains, ankle distortions manifesting as swelling, sometimes with bruising. Painful ankle joint dysfunction results in limping, and if not treated in time, it becomes a source of the aforementioned chain of functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Another complaint in the summer period is the activation of neck and head pain. The provoking factor is a draft, which can also come from air conditioning. The draft causes cooling of stigmatized muscles and their increased tension to cramps. This moment can be the source of a pathological chain of functional disorders manifesting mainly as pain.
And what can be done about it? According to Dr. Sedmík, the most effective treatment for functional disorders is rehabilitation combined with physiotherapy. Among physical therapeutic procedures, the application of laser to the affected area has recently gained importance. High-energy lasers have a significant effect. The directed coherent light beam acts at the intracellular level. Photobiomodulation of affected cells is beneficial. The laser beam activates the production of ATP as a source of biochemical energy, modulating healing and repair processes in the affected tissue.
Handling high-energy lasers requires a well-founded approach at a specialized workplace, which LASEROTHERAPY undoubtedly is. In addition to laser therapy, complete physiotherapy and rehabilitation are performed here.
