Just like the prescription of drugs there is a target dose of laser therapy energy; where oral medications are measured in mg, laser therapy dose is measured in Joules per square cm. Class IV laser therapy target doses are determined by the type of condition being treated, the depth of the target tissue and the patient’s individual absorption characteristics.
Deep conditions are recommended to receive a target dose of 8-10 Joules/cm2, this enables a therapeutic amount of light to penetrate to the target tissue. Superficial conditions or areas that are boney with very little soft tissue (hands, knees, elbows), are recommended to receive a target dose of 4-6 Joules/cm2.
Some Laser Therapy devices come with preset protocols to help you determine target dose for a wide variety of conditions. LightForce Therapy Lasers contain Influence Technology that adjusts the protocol based on your patient’s individual absorption characteristics (skin color, body type, height, and specific condition being treated). This information allows the therapy laser to adjust the amount of the 980 nm and 810 nm therapeutic light to ensure optimal penetration and delivery of a therapeutic dose.
The key to dosage is that it is measured in Joules per cm2 and to achieve consistent results you must provide a therapeutic dose (8-10 J/cm2 for Deep Conditions and 4-6 J/cm2 for Superficial Conditions). Make sure you understand the difference before you invest in laser therapy equipment. Not all lasers are the same and not all Class IV laser therapy devices are the same either.
