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Laser Light Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

An injury to the spine that disrupts the nervous system is termed as spinal cord injury (SCI). This may result in parts of the body becoming totally or partially paralyze.
Research into laser light therapy for spinal cord repair has been funded by the U.S. government for quite some time. President Reagan included funding for it in his Strategic Defense Initiative budget.

  1. Causes

    • An SCI may be caused by a bad fall, accident, violence encounter or sports injury just to mention a few. A famous example was Christopher Reeve, the actor who played Superman. This is a neurological injury that affects the brain's signals to the body via the spinal cord.

    Light

    • The process of laser light therapy involves directing a low intensity light to the area of the spinal injury. This is a nonintrusive, painless procedure where the light is directed through the skin and tissue to the damaged area of the spinal cord.
      Many in the medical field initially were skeptical that light could penetrate through the skin to the level of the spinal cord to affect any repair. Now doctors, along with the FDA, have demonstrated that light can reach the spinal cord through the tissue.

    Medical Perception

    • "Light as a neuro-restorative and/or neuro-protective therapy for the treatment of injury and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) is a novel concept that is rapidly gaining attention," sates Dr. Juanita J. Anders of the Uniformed Services University of The Health Sciences in Maryland.

    Regeneration

    • According to Dr. Anders and her colleagues' research, laser light therapy "caused a significant increase in the number of regenerating corticospinal tract axons and the length of axonal regrowth." This means that light therapy can regenerate nerve connections between the brain and the spinal cord.

    Application

    • The research and testing of laser light therapy specifically to fix spinal cords has been limited to animals and human cadavers. While doctors are reluctant to make such bold statements that they are ready to cure paralysis in humans, Dr. Anders suggests this will soon be possible.

    Other Benefits

    • Laser light therapy has other benefits beyond the promise of treating spinal cord injuries. It relieves chronic and acute pain, increases blood supply, stimulates the immune system and nerve endings, develops collagen and muscle tissue, generates new healthy cells, promotes wound healing and clot formation and reduces inflammation.

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