Most light-therapy devices marketed as lasers are actually LEDs that scatter light and only reach the skin. True lasers emit coherent, focused light at specific wavelengths that penetrate several inches into tissue in seconds. Chiropractors need to verify they're buying actual lasers if they want deep-tissue results.
I'd love to pick it up right there and say, why is coherence so critical for deep tissue work? And how should a chiropractor look at this when they're comparing claims versus devices?
Yes, the first essential, if you will, when you're looking to buy a laser is you have to make sure you have a laser, not an LED or light therapy device. The difference is basically, like you said, is between coherent and non coherent light. And to make it very simple because you just, you know, you need to make things simple for understanding. Coherent light is direct, very focused light, where non coherent light is scattered light. So when you have scattered, like when you get into, as practitioners, you need to be able to have make these things specific. So when you have scattered light, you can't have specific wavelengths, which are called nanometers, and you can't incorporate frequencies within it because it's scattered light. So the penetration, it's not even skin deep, it's just literally dermis, it doesn't get any further. So that's what scattered light is. And then lasers are focused light, coherent light, and they can penetrate up to inches deep within seconds of using them.
So that's the biggest difference.
