Today, pulsed LED (light emitting diode) equipment for the veterinary world has become widespread and virtually mainstream. For over twenty years, Veterinarians have used Low Energy Photo Therapy on injured performance horses in all disciplines. Vets and trainers also use light therapy as a post-training or post-performance maintenance protocol.

In the 1960’s, French physician Paul Nogier found that different types of living tissue are in resonance at various frequencies, and in 1982, Dan Parris of CEFCO Electronics began manufacturing LED’s that pulsed with the frequencies Dr. Nogier identified. A new digital and re-engineered version of Parris’s Low Energy Photo Therapy product is again manufactured by CEFCO and marketed by world-renown horse trainer Dan Sumerel under the name of STS-2.

Gladstone Equine is the exclusive distributor of the STS-2 Systems in Central Virginia, and is currently the only commercial practitioner treating horses in the Richmond area. Gladstone technicians are available 7 days a week to help your horse.

Low Energy Photo Therapy has been shown in over 40 years of independent research worldwide to deliver powerful therapeutic benefits to living tissues and organisms. Both visible red and infrared light have been shown to effect at least 24 different positive changes at a cellular level. Visible red light penetrates tissue to a depth of about 8-10 mm.

NASA and U. S. Special Forces have found that Low Energy Photo Therapy is very beneficial in treating problems close to the surface such as wounds, cuts, scars, trigger and acupuncture points and is particularly effective in treating infections. Infrared light penetrates to a depth of over 23mm which makes it more effective for bones, joints, deep muscles, and connective tissue.

Different cell types have their own unique light absorption characteristics; that is, they absorb light best when pulsed at specific frequencies. For instance, skin layers, because of their ectodermic origin, absorb red light at 292 Hz, while calcium and phosphorus (bone) absorb light of a different frequency, 1168 Hz. Although both red and infrared wavelengths penetrate to different depths and affect tissues differently, their therapeutic effects are similar.

Treating points on the body with Low Energy Photo Therapy can also have a significant effect on remote and internal areas of the body through the stimulation of nerves, acupuncture points and trigger points which perform a function somewhat like transmission cables.

Since the first pulsed LED devices for animals were manufactured in 1982, there have been no reported side effects from Low Energy Photo Therapy. Occasionally, one may experience an increase in pain for a short period of time after treating chronic conditions. This occurs as the body reestablishes new equilibrium following treatment. It's a phenomenon that may occur as part of the normal process of recovery.

Light Therapy has been given many names: Phototherapy, Photon Therapy, Red Light Therapy, Infra-red Light Therapy, Pulsed LED Therapy, Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and Low Energy Photo Therapy (LEPT). We use the term Low Energy Photo Therapy or LEPT, because we’ve found that it best describes the actual protocol, since lasers are not required to achieve the desired response.

A study done by the Mayo Clinic in 1989 found that the results of light therapy are a direct effect of light itself, generated at specific wavelengths, and are not necessarily a function of the characteristics of coherency and polarization associated with lasers. Dr. Jeffrey Basford found that the coherent aspect of laser may not be the source of its therapeutic effect. He states, "Firstly, the stimulating effects are reported following irradiation with non-laser sources and secondly, tissue scattering, as well as fiber optic delivery systems used in many experiments rapidly degrade coherency . . . Thus any effects produced by low-energy lasers may be due to the effects of light in general and not to the unique properties of lasers. This view is not difficult to accept when it is remembered that wave-length dependent photo biochemical reactions occur throughout nature and are involved in such things as vision, photosynthesis, tanning and Vitamin D metabolism. In this view, laser therapy is really a form of light therapy, and lasers are important in that they are convenient sources of intense light at wavelengths that stimulate specific physiological functions.”1

The 1989 study showed LEDs and LASERS are simply convenient devices for producing electromagnetic radiation at specific wavelengths, and in addition to the one already cited, several other studies establish that it is the light itself at specific wavelengths that is therapeutic in nature and not the machine which produces it.

A Stanford University study on light therapy found that, “Lasers are just convenient machines that produce radiation. It is the radiation that produces the photo-biological and/or photo-physical effects and therapeutic gains, not the machines, and radiation must be absorbed to produce a chemical or physical change, which results in a biological response."2

This research proves that there is no correlation between the machine and the biological response. All biological systems have a unique absorption spectrum which determines what wavelengths and frequencies of radiation will be absorbed to produce a given therapeutic effect. The visible red and infrared portions of the spectrum have been shown to have highly absorbent and unique therapeutic effects in living tissues.

Physical Benefits of Low Energy Photo Therapy:

1. Stimulates the production of Nitric Oxide. Nitric Oxide (NO) is a gas that is the key vehicle required for oxygen transport to the tissues, the transmission of nerve impulses, and other physiological activities. It is the increase in NO production that provides for the increased vascularity, lymphatic activity, ATP release and efficiency of nerve tissue.

2. Low Energy Photo Therapy increases circulation by increasing the formation of new capillaries, which are additional blood vessels that replace damaged ones. New capillaries speed up the healing process by carrying more oxygen as well as more nutrients needed for healing and they can also carry more waste products away.

3. Stimulates production of collagen. Collagen is the most common protein found in the body. Collagen is the essential protein used to repair damaged tissue and to replace old tissue. It is the substance that holds cells together and has a high degree of elasticity. By increasing collagen production less scar tissue is formed at the damaged site.

4. Stimulates the release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the major carrier of energy to all cells. Increases in ATP allow cells to accept nutrients faster and get rid of waste products faster by increasing the energy level in the cell. All food turns into ATP before it is utilized by the cells. ATP provides the chemical energy that drives the chemical reaction of the cell. J Clin Laser Med Surg 1998 Jun;16(3):159-65

5. Increases lymphatic system activity. Edema, which is the swelling or natural splinting process of the body, has two basic components. The first is a liquid part which can be evacuated by the blood system and the second is comprised of the proteins, which have to be evacuated by the lymphatic system. Research has shown that the lymph vessel diameter and the flow of the lymph system can be doubled with the use of Low Energy Photo Therapy. The venous diameter and the arterial diameters can also be increased. This means that both parts of edema (liquid and protein) can be evacuated at a much faster rate to relieve swelling.

6. Reduces the excitability of nervous tissue. The photons of light energy enter the body as negative ions. This calls upon the body to send positive ions like calcium among others to go to the area being treated. These ions assist in firing the nerves thereby relieving pain.

7. Stimulates fibroblastic activity which aids in the repair process. Fibroblasts are present in connective tissue and are capable of forming collagen fibers.

8. Increases phagocytosis, which is the process by which the body disposes of dead or degenerated cells. This is an important part of the infection fighting process. Destruction of the infection and clean up must occur before the healing process can take place.

9. Induces a thermal like effect in the tissue. The light raises the temperature of the cells although there is no heat produced from the diodes themselves.

10. Stimulates tissue degranulation of mast cells, which is part of the healing process of wounds, ulcers or inflamed tissue. Lasers Surg Med 1996;19(4):433-7

11. Stimulates acetylcholine release. Acetylcholine causes cardiac inhibition, vasodilatation, gastrointestinal peristalsis and other parasympathetic effects.

You'll find books and research reports in Gladstone Library on Low Energy Photo Therapy, and all books and research documents are available from Gladstone Equine or our affiliate partners.

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