Cold laser: a chapter of my journey

When being touched was difficult

In my original story I described a period when pain had become so intense that even a gentle touch could trigger an attack. I was dealing with limited mobility and trying to understand how to make ordinary activity possible again.

Beginning around 2013, I wrote about receiving treatment with an Apollo Class IV laser through my chiropractic care. I called it “cold laser therapy” in the original article. That was the name I used for my experience at the time; different light and laser devices should not automatically be considered equivalent.

The sessions I remember

My archived account describes appointments that included light chiropractic adjustments and rehabilitation exercises alongside laser sessions. At one point I reported visits about twice a week, with laser treatments lasting approximately 30–45 minutes and addressing several areas of my body.

I recorded the laser portion as something I could tolerate at a time when other contact was very difficult. I also wrote that I felt changes in discomfort and tremors in treated areas. These are personal observations, not proof of a particular mechanism or a general result.

Progress didn't mean freedom from pain

The same account makes it clear that the pain remained severe during this period. What began to change was what parts of a day I could participate in. I was working toward walking farther, doing small activities with family, and eventually managing outings that had once seemed out of reach.

I set specific goals. One was to walk through the Kansas City Zoo far enough to see the giraffes and zebras. In my old writing, I noted being able to accomplish that goal in 2017. Another was to be ready for a Google community gathering in California, an important reason I kept increasing my walking distance.

“That was really the beginning of my dedication of walking as far as I could each day.”— From my original Cold Laser Therapy article

One streetlight, and then farther

Some days walking to the store meant pain, tears, and the need to rest before returning home. I also had support from family, clinicians, rehabilitation, and changes in how I organized my days. The laser appointments were one part of that larger story—not a single explanation for every change.

What this story can and cannot tell us

I felt that the treatment was part of my progress and wrote about it with gratitude at the time. But my case cannot show that laser therapy alone caused the changes in walking, work, medication, or pain. These were overlapping experiences across several years.

For general CRPS information and available treatments, see MedlinePlus. A separate evidence review will examine laser therapies with attention to device type, study quality, and uncertainty.