Learn how Class IV laser therapy may help reduce arthritis-related pain, stiffness, and inflammation in the knees, hips, shoulders, hands, and other joints.
Can Laser Therapy Help Arthritis?
If you have arthritis, you may already know something important:
You don’t necessarily need someone to tell you that your X-ray looks different.
You want to hurt less and move better.
Arthritis can cause aching, stiffness, inflammation, restricted movement, and difficulty performing activities that used to be easy.
While Class IV laser therapy does not remove arthritis or reverse every degenerative change within a joint, it may help address some of the pain and inflammation associated with an arthritic area.
At Simply Health Chiropractic in Spring Green, Wisconsin, laser therapy is one conservative option we may consider for patients with joint pain.
What Happens in an Arthritic Joint?
Arthritis is a broad term, but osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms.
As a joint undergoes degenerative change, cartilage, bone, joint surfaces, surrounding muscles, tendons, ligaments, and the joint capsule can all contribute to pain and stiffness.
The painful area is therefore often more complicated than a single “bad joint.”
Muscles may tighten to protect the area.
Movement patterns may change.
Nearby tissues may become overloaded.
Inflammatory processes can contribute to soreness.
That is why treating an arthritic patient often means looking beyond the X-ray.
How Could Class IV Laser Therapy Help?
Therapeutic laser uses red and near-infrared light to influence biological activity within tissues.
Photobiomodulation has been studied for its effects on pain, inflammation, cellular energy production, circulation, and musculoskeletal function. Research evaluating high-intensity laser therapy has found potential benefits for a variety of musculoskeletal pain conditions, although the strength of evidence varies between conditions and protocols.
For an arthritis patient, the practical goal may be:
Less pain.
Less stiffness.
Better movement.
More comfortable activity.
Knee Arthritis
Knee pain is one of the most common reasons people begin modifying their activities.
Maybe stairs are becoming difficult.
Maybe getting out of a chair hurts.
Perhaps the first few steps in the morning are stiff, or your knee aches after spending the day on your feet.
When appropriate, laser therapy can be directed to tissues surrounding the knee to help manage pain and inflammatory irritation.
It can also be combined with chiropractic care and appropriate movement recommendations when mechanics in the hips, pelvis, ankles, or knees are contributing to the problem.
Hip Arthritis
Hip arthritis often produces groin pain, hip stiffness, decreased range of motion, or discomfort when getting into a vehicle, putting on shoes, walking, or standing after sitting.
Because the hip is a relatively deep joint, a higher-powered therapeutic laser may be useful for delivering an appropriate dose of light energy to the region.
Of course, not every painful hip is arthritis.
Bursitis, tendon irritation, muscular dysfunction, low-back problems, and other conditions can produce similar symptoms.
An examination helps determine what is most likely causing the pain before deciding how to treat it.
Shoulder, Hand, and Other Joint Pain
Laser therapy may also be incorporated into care for painful shoulders, hands, wrists, ankles, and other joints.
Again, the goal is not to promise a new joint.
The goal is to improve the environment surrounding the painful joint so that pain, inflammation, muscle guarding, and movement restrictions may improve.
Can Arthritis Still Hurt Even When There Is Nothing “New” on an X-Ray?
Absolutely.
Degenerative changes on an X-ray do not always correlate perfectly with how much pain a person experiences.
One person can have significant arthritis and surprisingly little pain, while someone else with seemingly moderate changes may be extremely symptomatic.
This is because pain is influenced by many structures and processes—not just what an X-ray shows.
That gives us opportunities to improve how someone feels even when we cannot change every structural finding.
The Goal Is Better Function
For many arthritis patients, success means being able to:
walk farther,
garden again,
play with grandchildren,
climb stairs,
sleep better,
exercise,
or simply get through a workday more comfortably.
Those functional improvements matter.
Arthritis Treatment in Spring Green, Wisconsin
If arthritis or joint pain is limiting your daily life, conservative care may provide options beyond simply avoiding activity.
At Simply Health Chiropractic, we evaluate the entire area to determine what is contributing to your symptoms.
For appropriate patients, treatment may incorporate Class IV laser therapy, chiropractic care, exercises, mobility recommendations, or other conservative therapies.
We serve patients from Spring Green, Plain, Lone Rock, Arena, and throughout the River Valley community.