Photobiomodulation series, 4 of 4
Beyond Pain: Could Light Become Part of Whole-Body Veterinary Medicine?
By Dr Ryan Morgan, Onward Veterinary Services ·
For the past few weeks we've explored therapeutic laser for joints, skin, wounds and even oral health.
We saved the biggest question for last. What if photobiomodulation isn't really a treatment for "sore things" at all? What if it's a way of influencing how the body responds to injury, inflammation and healing?
That is where the research is beginning to head.
Helping patients recover from surgery
Start with something practical. A 2024 study looked at dogs undergoing elective gastropexy, a preventative procedure commonly performed in dogs at increased risk of gastric dilatation-volvulus, or GDV. Some dogs received PBMT immediately after surgery in addition to the usual care.
Those dogs had lower pain scores during early recovery and were more likely to have started eating during the first eight hours following surgery.
Does that mean laser replaces pain medication after surgery? Absolutely not. Think about it the other way round. Appropriate medication, good nursing care, nutrition, gentle movement and PBMT together can make recovery easier than any one of them alone. That is the philosophy behind multimodal care.
And then things get even more interesting
Researchers are also investigating whether photobiomodulation can influence inflammation and immune responses elsewhere in the body. One laboratory study in a mouse model of chronic asthma found changes in important anti-inflammatory processes following PBMT.
We need to be very careful here. That does not mean we can currently treat a dog or cat's asthma by pointing a therapeutic laser at their chest. Animal models help scientists understand biological mechanisms. They are not the same thing as proving a treatment works in veterinary patients.
But research like this raises a fair question: how many of PBMT's future applications haven't we found yet?
Whole-patient medicine
Which brings us back to how we want to care for our patients.
A dog with arthritis isn't simply an arthritic knee. A cat recovering from surgery isn't simply an incision. A senior pet with several chronic conditions isn't a collection of unrelated problems. They're a whole animal.
Our goal is to combine the tools available to us in ways that support comfort, movement, healing and quality of life. Sometimes that's medication. Sometimes nutrition, or rehabilitation, or photobiomodulation. Often it's several of them working together.
What comes after light
Next month, we're going to explore another treatment that is often misunderstood: Medical Acupuncture.
And we're going to start by getting rid of a misconception. Medical acupuncture isn't about mysterious energy flowing through invisible pathways. From a modern medical perspective, the fascinating part is what happens when we stimulate carefully selected areas of the body and the nervous system responds. That response can influence pain. It can influence muscles. It can influence movement. And some of the effects may extend considerably further.
Then we'll bring everything together and explore one of our favourite questions: what happens when we combine acupuncture, rehabilitation, photobiomodulation and conventional veterinary medicine around one individual patient?
Because the future of veterinary medicine may not be about choosing between old and new, conventional and complementary, medication and technology. It may be about choosing the right combination for the animal in front of us.
Next month: Medical Acupuncture, Tiny Needles, Big Possibilities.
We hope you'll join us.
Wondering whether laser therapy could help your pet? See how we use it at home across Calgary.