Cold Laser Therapy July 2023
First, The Disclaimer
Be forewarned, EVERYTHING on this website is my personal opinion based only on my experience folded in with online research. Nothing is guaranteed by anyone to be safe or effective. That being said, I’m wildly excited about the benefits I have received from using cold laser treatments on my osteoarthritic fingers. Bill however, thought it made his arthritic joints worse after 2 sessions with a professional and hasn’t tried it again.
Accidental Discovery
In the summer of 2021, in the heart of the pandemic, I sought massage treatments from several therapists in Bend, OR where we were staying in our trailer. It was there I received the worst massage in my 40 years of regular massage treatments. I told the guy that his work was painful, and he didn’t modify his technic. I never went back. The next practitioner thought her cold laser treatment was better than massage for my painful buttock issue and she offered to use it on my arthritic fingers too.
Her professional grade cold laser treatment didn’t do a thing for my buttock pain but did visibly improve the osteoarthritis in my finger joints. I had several cold laser sessions with her and, as she predicted, the beneficial effects lasted for months. She said it also worked wonders on her mother’s rheumatoid arthritis.
My dominant hand forefinger joint had been deteriorating over the previous 3 years. My finger joint was so distorted and painful from the chronic inflammation that I was losing the pincher function with my thumb. Plastic buckles on bike helmets and backpacks were almost impossible for me to open. It was a terrifying loss that boded-ill for continuing doing the chores of daily living and some sports.
First, The Disclaimer
Be forewarned, EVERYTHING on this website is my personal opinion based only on my experience folded in with online research. Nothing is guaranteed by anyone to be safe or effective. That being said, I’m wildly excited about the benefits I have received from using cold laser treatments on my osteoarthritic fingers. Bill however, thought it made his arthritic joints worse after 2 sessions with a professional and hasn’t tried it again.
Accidental Discovery
In the summer of 2021, in the heart of the pandemic, I sought massage treatments from several therapists in Bend, OR where we were staying in our trailer. It was there I received the worst massage in my 40 years of regular massage treatments. I told the guy that his work was painful, and he didn’t modify his technic. I never went back. The next practitioner thought her cold laser treatment was better than massage for my painful buttock issue and she offered to use it on my arthritic fingers too.
Her professional grade cold laser treatment didn’t do a thing for my buttock pain but did visibly improve the osteoarthritis in my finger joints. I had several cold laser sessions with her and, as she predicted, the beneficial effects lasted for months. She said it also worked wonders on her mother’s rheumatoid arthritis.
My dominant hand forefinger joint had been deteriorating over the previous 3 years. My finger joint was so distorted and painful from the chronic inflammation that I was losing the pincher function with my thumb. Plastic buckles on bike helmets and backpacks were almost impossible for me to open. It was a terrifying loss that boded-ill for continuing doing the chores of daily living and some sports.
NRO Cold Laser
The Buy Decision
Literally, when we were going out the door for 5 months overseas in the summer of 2022, I ordered a home version of a cold laser, hoping it wasn’t a scam. It wasn’t, and it worked. In the summer of 2023, I bought a 2nd laser in Europe rather than packing my original product because the ones available from Amazon.de, the German company, looked smaller and possibly superior.
At the start of the summer of 2023, the finger joints on my other hand suddenly were becoming deformed. On this hand, the initial presentation was the sensation of a persistent paper cut on my middle finger knuckle, though there was no visible damage to the skin. Nonetheless, the joint was becoming swollen and deformed and it constantly hurt. Like with the other hand and my original laser, after several weeks of self-treatment with the new laser in Europe, it began to noticeably improve.
I have no way to compare the efficacy of the 2 lasers, I just know that they both dramatically improved my arthritic fingers. What I was told was impossible was possible: the arthritic damage was partially reversible. I had lost a lot of strength in my dominant hand because of the joint deformities and now I was rebuilding the strength of those muscles.
Diving In
Because of considerable time pressure, I short-cutted my usual careful analysis and leapt from “The $2500+ professional lasers work, so maybe the $250 home versions do too.” Because of my high level of pain and dysfunction, I was willing to gamble the money in the hopes that I was right.
If you are interested in purchasing a cold laser, I urge you start from the beginning and do your own research on the products. The online sales pitches for them seem to me to be a bit of ‘smoke and mirrors’ and I don’t know the science behind them well enough to make a recommendation with confidence.
However, I’m satisfied with both products I bought. I was eager to buy the 2nd product by NRO because its handle was shorter than my original Dernox purchase, which would make it easier to use without holding it. The NRO product uses a USB-C connector for charging, which is also convenient. I’d love it if the NRO laser beeped when it shut off and managing its clicks to turn it on takes some getting used to. The NRO instructions warn the user that it can get uncomfortably hot, which I have found to be true. Usually, if I set its timer for 25 minutes instead of the maximum of 30 minutes, I avoid having the temperature become a problem. I would buy either product again.
My personal notes from my 2 cold laser purchases:
Purchase #1 4/23/22 ordered
Dernox Cold Laser by Halipax.com, 4/27/22 began using
Paid $217 with a 15% discount, list $550, shipped from TX; 805-286-0748
21 diodes: 15 @ 650nm for 5mW; 6 diodes at 808nW for 200mW = 1275 mW
GaAIAs diode laser, adjustable continuous & pulsating??
Lithium; 253 g; 2000mAh battery; USB-C connector
Halipax seemed powerful for price point
Purchase #2 June 2023 from Amazon.de
NRO 1.055 mW CE-UK/EU 239E Laser: Handheld Laser Device Model H-001
5 X 808 nm + 11 X 650 nm; 200 mW maximum output power per 808 nm diode, 5mW per 650 diode
Battery capacity: 2800 mAh; battery voltage: DC 3.7v; USB-C connector
Please share your experiences with me if you use cold laser therapy for any of your health problems.