Shockwave vs MLS Class 4 Laser therapy - What are the key differences?

Shockwave is commonly used to treat tendon and ligament injuries by increasing inflammation, blood flow and fibroblasts reaching the damaged tissue. Multiple treatments are required over a 6-8 week period before tissues are repaired by largely scar tissue.  This process scan be significantly painful with many patients refusing continued treatments.

MLS Class 4 Laser therapy also treats tendon/ligament injuries but in a different, pain free way. MLS Class 4 laser therapy reduces pain from the damaged tendon/ligament by inhibiting the speed and amplitude of the nerve impulses supplying the damaged tissue, immediately reducing the pain (analgesic effect – Ref 1) and associated muscle spasm during the first treatment – in fact because of this analgesic effect, MLS laser therapy is often used in conjunction with existing shockwave systems to reduce the pain associated with shockwave treatments, making the patient experience more comfortable

MLS Class 4 laser therapy increases the tensile strength of repairing tendon /ligament tissue by increasing the speed of remodelling of the extra cellular matrix, and the proportion of collagen 1 which has a higher tensile strength than collagen 3.

MLS Class 4 laser therapy also decreases inflammation and swelling by reducing  inflammatory mediators, COX-2 inflammatory mediators, Interleukin 1 & 6 and Tissue Necrosis Factor alpha (Ref 2&3). This anti-inflammatory effect means that MLS Class 4 laser therapy is also indicated to treat a wide range of inflammatory conditions including arthritis and inflammatory skin conditions so is more versatile than shockwave which is only used to treat tendon and ligament injuries

So if you are considering buying shockwave or already have a system, call us for a free trial of the MLS Class 4 laser system and ask your patients to compare the treatments. MLS Class 4 laser therapy can be used to treat a wider range of painful inflammatory condition including tendon/ligament damage and due to its analgesic effect reduces pain.

Ref 1 : 830 nm laser irradiation induces varicosity formation, reduces mitochondrial membrane potential and blocks fast axonal flow in small and medium diameter rat dorsal root ganglion neurons: implications for the analgesic effects of 830 nm laser

Roberta T Chow, Monique A David, Patricia J Armati 

Ref 2:  British Journal of Sports Medicine

A randomised, placebo controlled trial of low level laser therapy for activated Achilles tendinitis with microdialysis measurement of peritendinous prostaglandin E2 concentrations

J M Bjordal, R A B Lopes-Martins, V V Iversen

Ref 3:  Laser Surgery and Medicine

Anti‐inflammatory effects of low‐level light emitting diode therapy on achilles tendinitis in rats

Murilo Xavier MS, Débora Rodrigues David MS , Renato Aparecido de Souza PhD

Arthur Nascimento Arrieiro MS , Humberto Miranda PhD Eduardo Tadeu Santana