Understanding How MLS Laser Therapy Can Treat Your Sciatica

Whether you're new to sciatica or you’ve dealt with this condition before, the one takeaway that stands out is how painful the condition can be. Up to 40% of people develop sciatica at some point in their lives, which means millions of people understand the unique pain and limitations that come with sciatica.

The experienced and skilled team of musculoskeletal experts here at Valiant Life Medical also has a clear understanding of the back pain caused by sciatica. As an integrative practice, we offer a number of solutions for sciatica, including our innovative and effective MLS laser therapy.

A very large nerve problem

There are different causes of lower back pain and one of the most uncomfortable is sciatica, which makes sense given that your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body.

Your sciatic nerve starts in your lower back, between your lumbar and sacral regions. This large nerve then splits and travels down each side of your buttocks, into your legs, and down to your feet. At its largest point in your leg, the nerve has a circumference slightly less than an inch in diameter.

When you develop sciatica, degenerative changes in your spine compress or pinch this nerve, which often leads to pain in your lower back, as well as symptoms that radiate down one side of your lower extremities. These symptoms can include sharp pain, as well as numbness, tingling, and weakness.

The power of MLS therapy in treating sciatica

In most cases, sciatica is treated with anti-inflammatory medications and rest. In other words, get comfortable (if possible) and just wait for the nerve irritation to subside.

We tend to take a more proactive approach, and we’ve found that MLS therapy can help speed the recovery and get patients back to pain-free movement more quickly.

MLS stands for multiwave locked system, which is a system that builds on low level laser therapy (LLLT). The success behind LLLT in treating nerve issues comes from its ability to elicit a healing and anti-inflammatory response in your body.

With MLS, we take this low-level healing to the next level because the system combines two laser wavelengths that we deliver together — an 808 nm continuous laser and a 905 nm pulsed laser.

Between these two laser energies, we can tackle the main issues with sciatica to provide:

• Pain relief
• Inflammation reduction
• Improved lymphatic flow
• Better blood circulation to damaged tissues

The low-level light energies essentially create an optimal regenerative environment that helps to repair the tissues that are involved in your sciatica.

To give you an idea about how effective MLS can be, one study of people with chronic neck pain found that MLS therapy (along with exercises) led to greater pain reduction and less disability than exercises alone or LLLT plus exercise.

If you’d like to see for yourself how MLS therapy can shorten your sciatica journey, please contact our office in Fort Worth, Texas, to schedule an appointment.