Shingles is a viral infection that can cause a great deal of pain. It is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox and often affects people who have had chickenpox in the past. The shingles virus lies dormant in the body for many years, and specific triggers, such as stress, can reactivate it.
If you would like to make your recovery journey that must smoother, contact us to speak to one of our therapists, there is a lot we can do. Call us at 01-254-4800 or email us at [email protected].
What Causes Shingles?
Shingles usually affects people over 50 years old, but it can occur at any age. It is more common in women than men. The rash usually appears in a line on one side of your body. It can appear on your face, chest, back, or stomach. The rash starts as small blisters that fill with fluid and become scabs. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Until your shingles blisters scab over, you are contagious and should avoid physical contact with anyone who hasn’t yet had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, especially people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and newborns.”
The rash is usually itchy and can be very painful. You may also have a fever, headache, or fatigue. If the rash appears on your face, it can cause eye problems. Shingles is not contagious, but you can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles if you have never had chickenpox before. Shingles can be treated with antiviral drugs and pain relievers.
What Causes A Flare-up Of Shingles?
Research indicates that the immune process leading to a shingles flare-up is complex and multifactorial. Some factors leading to a flare-up may be stress or immune or hormonal dysfunction.
How Can We Help Reduce Symptoms Of Shingles?
Shingles is a virus, and like many other kinds of viruses, we simply have to let the body do its thing and let it play its course. However, you can do a few things to make your recovery a little more comfortable and prevent future flare-ups.
Laser therapy can relieve shingles pain and promote tissue healing. Laser therapy penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the light-sensitive cells in our body, causing them to produce more energy, which helps heal damaged nerve cells and flushes out debris.
How Laser Therapy Works
Laser therapy targets specific areas of the nerve that are causing pain. The light energy penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the light-sensitive or photosensitive cells in our tissue, particularly water molecules and mitochondria. The light activates the mitochondria, causing them to produce more energy, which helps heal damaged nerve cells.
Light or laser therapy also causes an influx of oxygen-rich blood to the damaged area, carrying valuable nutrients for cellular repair and recovery. This increase in blood also helps desensitize painful areas by flushing out inflammatory cells, such as cytokines and histamine, that cause pain signals to be received by the brain.
How Laser Therapy Promotes Viral Immunity
Laser therapy is a treatment that uses focused beams of light to target specific areas of the body. Laser therapy has been shown to promote viral immunity by increasing the production of antibodies and white blood cells.
Additionally, laser therapy can help to reduce inflammation and improve healing time. Laser therapy is a safe and effective way to boost the immune system and fight off infection.
Studies using in vivo cells have found that laser therapy could potentially slow down the growth of cancerous tumors. Laser therapy also increases the number of immune cells around the tumor. These findings are exciting as they pave the way for laser therapy to be a safe and effective therapy for immune disorders and cancer [2].
The Benefits Of Laser Therapy
There is evidence that laser therapy has many benefits for those suffering from this painful condition. Here is a list of science-based benefits:
- Reduces inflammation.
- Improves microcirculation.
- Increases cellular metabolism.
- Enhances the action of the medication.
- Stimulates regenerative processes.
- Prevents scarring.
- Reduces pain, itching, and burning.
- Reducing swelling.
- Stimulates both the local and systemic immune systems.
- Increases cell resistance against pathogens (such as the herpesvirus).
- Reduces allergic reactions by reducing immune sensitivity.
- Shortened the symptomatic periods and increased the remission period.
How To Schedule An Appointment With A Professional Laser Tech
At Dublin Chiropractic & Physical Therapy we may be biased. Still, we think laser therapy is excellent for many conditions, from sports injuries and chronic pain to immune conditions like shingles and rheumatoid arthritis. If you would like to schedule an appointment, email us at [email protected] or call us at 01 254 4800.
References
[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/symptoms-causes/syc-20353054
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396416303401#bb0145
