The ancient Chinese have used needles to stimulate acupoints and bring about health benefits for thousands of years. But today, in the modern age, more and more exciting applications of acupuncture are erupting.

One of these applications is the use of cold (therapeutic) laser to stimulate acupoints.

Cold laser therapy is referred to by many names, including therapeutic laser, low-level laser therapy, low-level light therapy, and phototherapy.

Cold lasers emit photons (light energy) and have been used in physiotherapy for decades to increase cell energy production, promote tissue healing, decrease inflammation, and improve blood circulation.

Cold laser can also stimulate acupuncture points and research shows it is effective for analgesia (including acute pain, arthritis and perioperative pain) and vomiting. Of course, acupuncture laser can be used to treat more conditions (and it is often used as such in veterinary practice), although the research hasn’t fully caught up yet.

As of 2020, more than 40% of veterinary practices in North America have therapeutic lasers, as more clients are requesting those for use on their furry friends, alongside other integrative therapies.

This means there is considerable opportunity to expand the use of lasers to another modality - acupuncture laser (also called laser meridian therapy in some circles).

How Laser Acupuncture Works

Laser acupuncture can be applied along with needle acupuncture or instead of needle acupuncture. The selection of acupoints for treatment remains the same as for needle practice - it is just the mode of point stimulation that changes.

With needles, mechanical energy is used to stimulate acupoints. With laser, light energy is used.

Compared to stimulating acupoints with needles, laser therapy offers a number of exciting advantages.

This is why laser acupuncture has become a larger focus in our new, revamped, Certificate of Animal Acupuncture here at the Animal Acupuncture Academy.

PS: If you are a prospective student from Australia, New Zealand, or Canada, having access to or using a laser is not a requirement to enroll in the Animal Acupuncture Academy’s Certificate of Animal Acupuncture. You may elect to only practice with needles.

If you are a prospective student from the USA, UK, or Europe, see the section below for specific information.

Laser Acupuncture Is Better Tolerated by Animals

The top advantage of laser acupuncture is that it is typically much better tolerated than acupuncture needling.

Some animals will completely refuse needling (so-called needle-shy patients) and some patients will need to be restricted to stay still and safe for a full 20-30 min acupuncture treatment.

In this day and age, many practitioners (and animal owners) prefer to focus on cooperative care, where the animal is positively involved and engaged in their health care. As long as an animal can tolerate wearing goggles (which are required for using certain lasers), many patients can experience a safe and pleasant laser acupuncture treatment.

Laser will typically create a sensation of warmth in the tissues, which can be quite comforting to animals (especially older or sick animals).

Treat a Wider Range of Animal Patients

Some animals may be deemed unsuitable for needle acupuncture due to a variety of factors, mostly them being unable to tolerate needles.

Some animals may also be more difficult to needle, for example older animals that may experience more negative sensations, young animals that are very small, or exotics (such as birds) that will try to flap away when needled. Some animals have conditions which make them unsuitable for needling (e.g. skin conditions such as pyoderma or bleeding disorders etc.).

Laser bypasses these drawbacks and makes acupuncture accessible to more patients including:

• Anxious, hyperactive, or pain-averse patients
• Geriatric or juvenile patients
• Exotics (e.g. birds, rodents, etc.)

By using laser acupuncture, you can expand the range of your acupuncture practice and help more animals get healthy. This can also increase the client base for your animal acupuncture practice.

Shorten Your Treatment Times

If you are in possession of a powerful laser (such as a Class III or IV laser), the stimulation time per acupoint will usually be in the range of 5-30 seconds, instead of 20 min of needle insertion time. This is great for animal patients that are particularly wriggly or impatient.

This also means you can treat more patients in a shorter amount of time (e.g. scheduling 15-min sessions instead of 30-min sessions).

This can help leverage your impact to positively influence more animals’ lives, as well as boost the profitability of your animal health practice.

Few Risks

Beyond risks to the eye’s retina (safety goggles must always be worn when Class III or IV lasers are used), the risks of laser acupuncture are minor compared to needle acupuncture.

For example, there are fewer risks of:

• Infection
• Bleeding
• Organ perforation (including pneumothorax)

Stimulate More Acupoints (And More Sensitive Acupoints)

As laser therapy is better tolerated than needle acupuncture, this means that sensitive areas, such as the face, ears, belly, and legs can be more easily treated.

This potentially leads to more effective treatments (especially if you would have to skip those points if they are not well tolerated with needling).

The head of a laser is also usually larger than an acupuncture needle, which means that as the practitioner, you don’t need to be as precise to treat the acupoint in question.

Laser Acupuncture Is Exciting for Clients

Some clients may be worried about the idea of needles being inserted into their animal.

With laser, once the safety goggles are on (for both the animal and owner), there are very few risks and the experience is generally positive, especially if the animal is experiencing positive emotions during treatment and does not need to be restrained.

This all increases the likelihood of clients signing up for laser acupuncture (less upfront worry) and their likelihood to continue with regular treatment, especially if the experience in the consult room (or horse barn) is positive.

Practicing Laser Meridian Therapy

Note: the following section does not constitute legal advice, always consult a local lawyer.

In some jurisdictions (e.g. the US and UK), the practice of animal acupuncture with needles is illegal for non-veterinarians.

However, in some jurisdictions the stimulation of acupoints with lasers may be legal for those without a veterinary degree. This means that someone with a good working knowledge of traditional chinese medicine and who is certified in laser therapy can stimulate acupoints in animals and get great treatment outcomes.

This is why, in our new AAA course, considerable emphasis is placed on using lasers for acupoint stimulation. If you complete (some or all of) your case studies with a laser, you will be eligible to register as a practitioner of Cold Laser Therapy with the International Institute for Complementary Therapists and apply for insurance through them.

If you are not a veterinarian and are from the USA, UK, or Europe and want to study online with the Animal Acupuncture Academy and use laser only for your practice, please sign up to our newsletter to receive our brochure!

Drawbacks of Laser Acupuncture

Despite these significant advantages, there are some drawbacks to laser acupuncture a practitioner has to be aware of:

• High risk of damage to the retina if safety goggles are not worn during treatment with a Class III or IV laser.
• Upfront cost of purchasing a laser (from AUD $500-5,000).
• Needing to charge or plugin the laser, depending on the model.
• General contraindications to laser (these are fully outlined in the AAA course but include pregnant animals, epiphyseal plates in juveniles, animals on medications creating photosensitivity, animals with cancer etc.)
• The scientific literature on laser acupuncture in animals is limited - current research points to the fact that immediate effects may be lower with a laser than with needling, but that these effects build up, sometimes exceeding the effects of needling over time.
• It is difficult to find off-the-shelf information on how to setup your laser for laser acupuncture (Note: this is fully covered within the AAA course)

Interested in Learning More About Laser Acupuncture?

Don’t hesitate to join our course newsletter to receive your brochure for the Animal Acupuncture Academy’s Certificate in Animal Acupuncture.

The Animal Acupuncture Academy is an IICT-Approved Training Provider for Cold Laser Therapy in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, UK and Europe.

In addition, the AAA is an IICT-Approved Training Provider for Animal Acupuncture [with needles] in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.