Glossary
Acupuncture: a method of treating disorders by stimulating points in the skin where the flow of energy is thought to be blocked (meridians); can be stimulated by needle, laser, heat or electricity; activates body’s defense system to restore health
Afferent C-fibres-fibres that carry pain to the brain
Bradykinins: forms at site of injured tissue; induces inflammation, dilates blood vessels and constricts smooth muscle;
Carbon Dioxide: A carbon dioxide soft tissue surgical laser with a wavelength of 10,600 nm. Decreases post-op edema, pain, inflammation and wound contraction. It is also beneficial for hemostasis. Wavelength makes is absorbed by water to a great extent, as well as by objects which contain water, such as tissues. Good for the treatment of disorders of the skin and mucous membranes.
Class 3B Lasers: indicates that use of laser involves a certain risk of eye injury (lasers divided into categories according to the potential damage to the eye)
Coherence: order or synchronicity; light that is coherent stay in long trains of waves.
Collimation: a divergent laser beam made parallel with a lens system (forms a parallel beam); allows for irradiation from a distance while still achieving a high power density over a small area.
Continuous Lasers: those which emit light a constant intensity (as opposed to a pulsed laser whose beam is interrupted mechanically or electronically).
Dose: the amount of energy administered to a surface area of tissue; measured in J/cm.
Duty Cycle: The light emitted during a pulsed cycle. If the duty cycle is 50%, it means that the light is emitting from the source 50% of the time.
ER: YAG: Erbium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet that operates at a wavelength of 2940 nm. It is a highly selective removal of caries over dentin and enamel. It causes a significant increase in bond strength of composite resin to enamel and dentin with acid etching.
Gallium-Aluminium-Arsenide Laser (GaAlAs): a continuous wave laser that works in the wavelength of 780-870 nm; used for wound healing and deep lying problems.
Gallium-Arsenide: a pulsed laser that works in the wavelength of 904 nm; used for the treatment of deeper situated problems, pain and inflammation.
Helium-Neon Laser (HeNe): a continuous wave laser that works at wavelength of 633 nm; used primarily for wound healing
Joule: the unit of energy.
Laser: The word laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Light Emitting Diode (LED): a light source, which is relatively narrow-banded; produce red, yellow, blue and green.
Low Level Laser Therapy: application of light at a specific wavelength to tissues, injuries and lesions to stimulate healing, resolve pain, relax muscles, increase blood flow and stimulate the anti-inflammatory effect; used regularly in dentistry, medicine, veterinary, acupuncture and physiotherapy; the use of low power laser to treat pain and many other conditions by activating the body’s defense system.
Nd: YAG: Neodynium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet soft tissue laser that operates at a wavelength of 1064 nm. It operates similar to a CO2 laser but with less thermal penetration. Decreases post-operative pain and healing times.
Output Power: measured in watts (W) or milliwatts (mW); higher output power means that a certain dose is more quickly reached; higher power diodes reduce the patient’s treatment time and also give a higher amount of energy at a deeper depth.
Power Density: the light output power emitted per unit area of the tissue being illuminated by the laser light (mW/cm
Pulsed Light Source: a source where the light intensity varies between a maximum and zero. Pulsed light source can be pulsed either electrically (by switching power on and off) or by using a chopper (mechanical shutter-the light is on continuously, but something is moving in front of the light source periodically).
Serotonin: found in platelets and masts cells; acts as a neurotransmitter, constricts blood vessels at injury sites and
may effect emotional states.
Substance P: a peptide neurotransmitter normally present in minute quantities in the nervous system and intestines of humans and various animals and found in inflamed tissue; primarily involved in pain transmission and is one of the most potent compounds affecting smooth muscle (dialation of blood vessels and contraction of intestine) and thus presumed to play a role in inflammation.
Treatment Reaction: the pain sometimes felt by patients the day after treatment; common in patients who suffer from chronic conditions; occurs because an injury becomes acute when the process of healing starts (it is a sign that the therapy is working).
Trigger Points (TP): a point tender to palpation which refers pain to the area of subjective pain; may arise in muscle, tendons, scar tissue, tooth sockets and other tissues.
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