Why Would I Write About a Lame Racehorse?
31 Aug 2009
How would you like to own a racehorse who won hundreds of thousands of dollars? I’m sure we’d crack open the champagne after each race. But how would you feel when the horse develops arthritis and chip fractures in the knee? Then, four veterinarians and two trainers say, “This horse could not and should not run again”. This is when we start crying in our champagne. But what has a racehorse to do with our aches and pains? In one word, plenty.
Dr. Fred Kahn, Founder of MediTech Laser and Rehabilitation Clinic in Toronto, told me he inherited this horse in an “exchange ownership” in lieu of paying an outstanding account. But when the horse became lame he decided to see if Low Intensity Laser Therapy (LILT) would restore his horse’s swollen, tender, joints.
Dr. Dennis Potosky, an expert on LILT at Meditech, began treating the horse three times a week. Two months later the swelling and pain were gone, the horse was walking without a limp, and was ready for the track. Since then it has raced four times and finished first in the last event running six and one eighth furlongs leaving the field behind.
This is an amazing story. Under normal circumstances, this horse would never have raced again. But how does its success affect us? In the past, LILT was used for several years to treat a variety of common, painful conditions in humans. And like the horse, I’ve also had first-hand experience with this therapy.
Several years ago I crawled out of bed one morning, unable to stand due to excruciating back pain. An MRI showed two ruptured lumbar discs. A neurosurgeon said he could operate, but there was no guarantee of success. Or I could play for time, hope the protruding discs would heal, and the pain might subside. Fortunately I had read about LILT, contacted Dr Kahn, and started laser therapy. A few weeks later I returned to my medical practice.
Since that time I’ve observed the effects of LILT on several types of patients. Some suffer from pain that has not been helped by conventional medical treatment and have been told they have to learn to live with it. In addition, they’re taking toxic pain medication that can cause complications whereas LILT has no known adverse side-effects.
The majority of patients at Meditech suffer from arthritis involving hip, knee or spine. A large number have degenerative disc disease with bulging discs, or spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the diameter of the spinal canal. Both of these conditions cause pressure on spinal nerves and constant pain. Their quality of life is severely diminished.
Other patients who can be helped are those suffering from the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome due to long hours at the computer. And I’ve seen dramatic results in patients who have chronic, long-standing diabetic ulcers resistant to the usual treatment.
But it’s not just the elderly who are helped by LILT. The clinic sees patients of all ages who have sport injuries. These problems usually respond quickly to laser therapy.
I’ve also seen dermatology lesions such as psoriasis, allergic contact dermatitis, acne, and herpes lesions fade away after treatment.
Dr. Mary Dyson, Emeritus Professor of Physiology at King’s College, London, England, is an international authority on wound healing. She says that “LILT provides a jump-start to the body’s natural healing process.” She adds that, “this technology delivers energy to the tissues that is transformed into biochemical energy. This results in increased blood supply and accelerated healing time.”
Obviously what gives a jump-start to humans does the same for horses. It’s been aptly said that you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Now, one could add it’s possible to treat a crippled horse with LILT. He still may refuse to drink water. But it appears he will be quite willing to run like hell again and win a race.
