Cold Laser Therapy in Franklin, TN
Contemporary use of Cold Laser Therapy
Dr. Aiello has been researching and successfully implementing cold laser therapy for 27 years. As a researcher he considers himself a high level student and teacher in the field of cold laser therapy. November of 2023 Dr. Aiello published his first book detailing his novel theory behind the mechanisms of cold laser therapy The Conscious Canary: A complete Model of the Biophotonic Communication System in Multicellular Life. During the last 27 years, Dr. Aiello has researched and implemented new developments in the conventional field of laser therapy for the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. In combination with chiropractic and massage therapy the addition of cold laser therapy enhanced treatment protocols.
In 2008 he discovered an unconventional use for cold laser therapy, the treatment of allergies. The Allergy Protocol Dr. Aiello developed in 2008, is based on a homeopathic technique called NAET, which Dr. Aiello modified to increase reliability of the protocol. The proposed mechanism of action of cold laser stimulus for the original NAET protocol, is an energetic balancing of the body bioelectric field, via acupuncture point stimulus, to the energy of a homeopathic preparation which mimicked the offending allergen. The treatment utilized a 635 nm (wavelength) red laser stimulus to acupuncture points, while the patient had physical contact with the homeopathic preparation selected . While experimenting with this method he found mixed results. Sometimes it worked, while sometimes it was ineffective. After months of experimenting he discovered a break through alteration to the protocol which greatly improved effectiveness of the procedure. Instead of treating with homeopathic preparations, he utilized samples of the actual allergens in glass vials. The first major success was treating a patient with an anaphylactic reaction to latex. This treatment incorporated the same acupuncture laser protocol from NAET, but instead of using the homeopathic preparation for a latex sample, he stuffed a latex glove in a glass vial as the new sample.
Dr. Aiello for years could not explain why this protocol worked, but he knew there was much more that could be gained in the field of cold laser therapy by understanding the root mechanism behind this treatment. As a science based practitioner, energetic balancing of the bodies energy field to the energy of the allergen cannot be the explanation behind this amazing protocol. As a science based practitioner, conventional models for the orthopedic use of cold laser also could not explain the results he had experienced in practice. Cold laser therapy does not penetrate deeper than dermal layer of the skin, so how could it speed the healing process of musculoskeletal conditions.
The Science Behind Cold Lasers
Cold lasers emit a single frequency of light within the electromagnetic spectrum. The red frequency of light we have been discussing, has been studied extensively over the last 100 years. The field of photobiomodulation researches the healing mechanisms behind multiple types and frequencies of visible light. The consensus mechanism of photobiomodulation researchers lies within enhanced mitochondrial function. The mitochondria is the power house of the cell, if the cell produces more energy efficiently all functions of the cell improves. For this reason, multiple companies are producing red laser and red LED units for the orthopedic setting as a healing modality for musculoskeletal conditions. The elephant in the room is, none of these units can transmit the red frequency of light deep enough to reach the proposed target of the mitochondria within the muscles. Red light will penetrate just below the epidermis into the dermal layer of skin. Higher intensity cold laser therapy units do not penetrate any deeper than lower intensity hand held lasers. This is because penetration depth is wavelength (wavelength=color) dependent not intensity dependent. A 635 nm low milliwatt cold handheld laser penetrates the same depth as a 635 nm hot laser in the watts. The only difference is the photonic absorbance into the pigments of the skin, which at high levels causes oxidative stress to the skin. Shorter wavelength light such as a blue laser penetrates the least amount into the skin while red light which is a longer wavelength will penetrate slightly deeper into the epidermis. The majority of all light within the visible light spectrum is absorbed into the pigment system of the skin or the hemoglobin within red blood cells.
A Novel Cold Laser Approach
After years of successfully implementing the cold laser in the orthopedic setting, Dr. Aiello understood cold lasers must be working by a yet to be understood mechanism via some types of indirect effect. Based on the current research, the only benefit he should have been observing would be at the cosmetic level of the skin. His conclusion was superficial absorption into the pigment system of the skin must be creating and indirect effect on a pigment related biologic system yet to be understood. The Allergy Protocol is also operating within this yet to be understood biologic system tied to the pigment system of the skin. For many years Dr. Aiello believed this illusive system to be the acupuncture meridian system. Dr. Aiello practiced acupuncture in his clinic for twenty two years until one day he made a discovery which was the starting point of a new model and the end of his belief in the acupuncture meridian system.
The Indirect Effect Of Cold Laser Therapy
Dr. Aiello began testing new combinations of the allergy protocol acupuncture points trying to understand why the original combination of points chosen in the original NAET protocol were effective. What he discovered is the original NAET acupuncture points had absolutely no connection to acupuncture channels, but instead was related to sensory nerves. This was the first step in developing a theory behind the indirect effect of cold laser stimulus that he was searching to understand. The laser was not effecting the acupuncture meridian system, the indirect effect correlated to the sensory nervous system. The cold laser can be moved to any location along the nerve dermatome. A nerve dermatome is the area of skin that is represented by a single spinal nerve (see diagram below). This is not to be confused with cutaneous nerves which can carry multiple spinal nerve levels, one cutaneous nerve can serve multiple nerve dermatomes. The original NAET points were located on three nerve dermatomes. The acupuncture meridians do not perfectly follow a single nerve dermatome, the meridians pass through multiple nerve dermatomes. When the cold laser was placed on the three nerve dermatomes on multiple locations the treatment still worked. If the laser was placed on multiple places along the acupuncture meridian outside of the original dermatomes stimulated by the original NAET acupuncture points, the treatment did not work. This may sound a little confusing, but the point is the location stimulated with the laser correlated to the spinal nerve dermatomes not the acupuncture meridians. This is a significant finding in the understanding of the indirect effect of cold laser therapy. This shows the mechanisms behind orthopedic and the allergy protocol lie within the central nervous system.
Cold Laser Therapy is a Neurologic Stimulus
Dr. Aiello practices functional chiropractic neurology which is based on increasing sensory input to the brain via spinal manipulations. Functional chiropractic neurology believes that restricted motion of spinal joints decreases proprioceptive input to the brain which results in postural muscle weakness on one side of the body. The central evaluation tool for evaluation of his chiropractic patients is based on an assessment of postural muscle tone. Once the side of imbalance is detected spinal manipulations are performed on only one side of the vertebrae, to increase sensory input to the brain restoring proper postural tone. When a patient has postural muscle imbalance any sensory stimuli from the proper side of the body will have an effect on posture tone. For example if a patient has postural muscle imbalance on the right side of the body a light or sound stimulus from the left side will temporarily reverse the muscle imbalance. If this same patient had restricted spinal joints on the left side of the spine a chiropractic manipulation will restore the motion to the joints making a long term correction to the postural muscle imbalance. The average patient required 3-4 spinal manipulations to restore spinal joint motion which made a long term correction of the postural muscle imbalance.
To test the theory that cold lasers are stimulating sensory nerves Dr. Aiello experimented with cold laser with multiple wavelengths (near infrared-violet) on every dermatome and he found a pattern. Each spinal nerve dermatome when stimulated with the proper wavelength cold laser resulted in a stimulating neurologic effect similar to a spinal adjustment except it held better than spinal manipulations. In most cases the location of the spine that was dysfunctional (restricted) prior to laser nerve stimulus is corrected after the laser stimulus to its corresponding nerve dermatome laser stimulus. When done correctly only one visit is necessary to reverse the postural muscle imbalance. This was a major breakthrough not just in clinical practice but it also showed the nervous system operates in a yet to be understood electromagnetic mechanism.
Clinically Dr. Aiello uses multiple frequencies of cold laser therapy as a sensory nerve stimulus to restore normal postural muscle tone. Using this modality properly effectively reverses the root cause of spinal conditions which most chiropractors treat with manipulation alone. By combining spinal manipulations and cold laser nerve stimulus he has found most common conditions causing low back and neck pain can be corrected in 1-2 sessions. Chronic conditions within the muscular system require more sessions of deep tissue massage and dry needling which he provides in the clinic.
All of the cold lasers Dr. Aiello uses are extremely safe. All of his cold lasers used therapeutically are 5 mw or less class III A lasers. The only precaution associated with Class III A cold lasers is prolonged stimulus in the eye, which can cause retinal damage. Class IIIA lasers have no negative interactions with the skin. To put the safety of Class III A lasers in perspective by the time solar radiation in the visible light spectrum hits the skin it as 50 mw intensity. The single frequency of visible light produced by cold lasers interacts with the biologically produced electromagnetic system by a much different mechanism than full spectrum sunlight. The topic of laser interaction with the biologic electromagnetic system is very complex but is detailed in Dr. Aiello's book for those interested in learning more.
Below is my video playlist explaining the biophotonic system.