Cold laser therapy is a relatively new technology when compared to many alternative therapies like physical therapy.Just like the abacus evolved into the computer, many alternative medicine practices are evolving to include light therapy. Recent innovations in low-level lasers now make it possible for the average physician or consumer to own cold laser equipment. Cold lasers are sometimes called Low Level Lasers.

JohnAnderson:

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I am a dentist and worryingly have started to develop Dupuytrens in one hand. I have been using my Low Level Laser that I normally use for dental procedures and have noticed a vast improvement ie reduction in size and greater mobility.

Thank you Vikingorigins for posting this.

I too have explored cold laser (LLLT - low level laser treatment) for Dupuytrens. Such laser equipment is readily available now at low cost. I would strongly advise people NOT to experiment with such devices as this treatment may well aggravate the condition – as Vikingorigins has just pointed out. Here is a summary of my own investigations in such cold laser for Dupuytrens.

1) There are no published studies at all for the use of such laser treatment for Dupuytrens.

2) We know the Dupuytrens condition develops by the proliferation of the myofibroblast cells. We also know that cold laser therapy ‘heals’ by the stimulation of fibroblast cells, resulting in increased proliferation, maturation and transformation into myofibroblasts cells. So, such laser treatment may well accelerate the proliferation of the Dupuytrens condition.

3) The treatment dose for such lasers has two distinct phases for biostimulation (Arndt-Schulz law), where: 1) a low dose (that might be used for wound healing e.g. < 5 J/cm2) may excite physiological activity, and 2) a high dose ( e.g. >10 J/cm2 that might be used for pain management)) may inhibit biostimulation.

In summary, I would guess that the use of LLLT (at high dosage) in the treatment of Dupuytrens may well have a future and proper clinical trials would be needed to evaluate this possibility. However, some dose regimes may well make the condition worse by actually stimulating the Dupuytrens condition. So please do NOT experiment at home on you own hand. Your hand is far too valuable for this!

To Vikingorigins,

I meant to add - one single application from an epilation cold laser device could not realistically have caused the clinical changes which you mention in one day. The cold laser treatment effect is built up over periods of weeks and months. I would not like for you to believe that you have caused any damage to yourself. I am merely pointing out that it would be unnwise (IMHO) for people to self prescribe laser treatment, or to accept treatment from a 'laser centre', for the Dupuytrens condidion (or the LD condition) when we know such treatment may cause an acceleation of the disease progression.

So, unfortunately, you do seem to have a somewhat agressive phase of the disease right now - but you did not influence that by the epilation laser.

Lanod

I just came back from the dermatologist and I have finger joint arthrosis, not knuckle pads. The skin thickening that I noted is inflammation.
Anyways, he was familiar with palmar, plantar and other fibromatosis and has an arsenal of equipement for skin rejuvenation so I questioned him on using his equipement for Dup and I will try to summarize the answers, although I know I probably miss a lot of nuances:
1- laser and radiofrequencies and those types of equipement that normally increase collagene production would likely be detrimental in treatment of Dup. There is a possibility that it might eliminate the bad collagene, but it was a big risk to take.
2- Ultherapy and Shockwaves were probably more promising areas for research.
3- He treated some severe cases of other types of fibromatosis with Potaba and found it very helpful. He thought it might help for Dup and LD.
4- About Botox for Dup, he thought that if it worked, it had to be in very very early stages, when nodules were just starting to appear. But he was not familiar with its use in other places than muscles and mentioned there could be other side effects of this toxine in the body.