Laser therapy uses a handheld laser to shine light on the sore area. We use a Class 3B or Class 4 laser, as your physician orders. The light is absorbed by the cells in the injured tissue and helps calm pain and swelling.
Your physician orders this treatment and sets how strong it is. You only get it if it is ordered for you.
What is laser therapy?
Laser therapy uses a handheld laser to shine light on the sore area. We use a Class 3B or Class 4 laser, as your physician orders.
How does it help?
The light is absorbed by the cells in the injured tissue and helps calm pain and swelling.
What does it feel like?
Mild warmth, or nothing at all. You and your technician both wear goggles made for that laser. The handpiece keeps moving, and your technician asks about heat every minute. Lasers are used in a closed treatment room with a warning sign on the door.
One-on-one. Your technician stays with you for the whole treatment and writes down the exact start and stop times.
Who should not have it?
- Never toward the eyes, even with goggles
- Never over the thyroid at the front of the neck
- Never over the belly or low back during pregnancy
- Cancer in the area
- Medicines that make your skin sensitive to light
- A tattoo or dark mole in the area (your physician decides first)
Before every visit, your technician asks safety questions out loud. If anything has changed, the physician decides before the treatment starts. You can ask to stop at any time.
How long does it take?
About 5 minutes per area, about 10 minutes in all.
What to remember
- Goggles stay on the whole time.
- Warm is fine. Hot is not; say so.
- Tell us about new medicines, since some make skin sensitive to light.
Show us you have it: Tell us when you would ask to stop. We go over it again at your next visit, and you can ask us to explain anything a second time.
Read more: repetitive strain injuries.
Other treatments in the program
- Heat and cold therapy
- Vibration therapy
- Traction chair
- Neck decompression
- Shockwave therapy
- TENS (gentle electrical stimulation)
This is part of our physician-directed physiotherapy program, where a physician orders and supervises every treatment and no treatment starts unless a physician is available right away.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP. Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine, Interventional Pain Management, Addiction Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. Last reviewed October 18, 2026.