ASHLAND — One day when Carole Sorensen was playing tennis, a sudden change of direction threw out her knee, caused cartilage and tendon damage and brought on waves of pain.

Pain pills helped, but she wanted to make it better — without surgery — so she decided to try something called cold laser therapy.

Administered 10 times over three months by Dr. Douglas Falkner of Just Light Therapeutics in Ashland, the laser, combined with high-intensity, light-emitting diodes, looks like something out of "Star Trek," but resulted in a "substantial decrease in pain and gaining mobility," says Sorensen.

"I couldn't stand," she says. "I was hobbling. I'm very grateful to get improvement without anything invasive."

Low Intensity Laser Therapy has been around for decades, but it is now finding its way into mainstream medicine as patients look for alternatives to drugs and surgery in the healing of diseased or traumatized tissue, Falkner says.

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It helps with tendonitis, sports injuries, carpal tunnel, TMJ syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, rotator cuff injuries, sprains, strains, back pain, sciatica, stubborn wounds and scarring, disc disease, neuropathy, stretch marks, acne, bunions and fibromyalgia, he says.

The half-hour treatment calls for direct applications of red light, then infrared light from a pad-like array of lights, then the laser. The doctor pinpoints tender spots and, like acupuncture, targets "trigger points" in muscle or fascia, says Mark Sunderland, clinic manager who also applies the process.

"It penetrates three or four inches," says Falkner. "All cells respond to the wavelength and it increases each cell's activity and energy, restoring normal cell function, helping overcome infection, enhancing healing and helping cells get rid of toxins."

Falkner, who worked as an emergency room physician for 10 years, now combines homeopathy with his standard medical practice.

It may seem a bit magical, but Falkner says all cells benefit from light — and infrared and laser at a steady, low frequency trigger release of endorphins, the body's natural pain relievers, cause the production of hydrocortisone, the body's stress reliever, and result in "significant" benefit after just one treatment.

The long-term effects, he says, include increased production of DNA, the protein "building block" of tissue, elevated neurotransmission, better electrolyte balance and reduced inflammation.

The treatment is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and gets some, but not total, reimbursement by Medicare. About half of medical insurers cover it to some extent, says Falkner.

Dr. Robin Miller of Asante's Triune Integrative Medical Center said several of her patients who suffer from tendon and arthritis problems have received some benefit from the therapy.

"It's accelerated healing," Miller said. "It increases blood flow. You have to be sure and get a good person to do it. No one's had complications that I know of."

Because it's more affordable and accessible than many complex Western procedures, cold laser has been used extensively in Eastern Europe, says Falkner.

"Here, we rely more on physical therapy, range-of-motion exercise, elevation of limbs, heat and ice, ultrasound and surgery — but the laser avoids the surgery and has a 93 percent success rate, much better than ultrasound," says Falkner, noting it works well in conjunction with physical therapy.

Laser is a shift from the normal medical approach, but Falkner says, "The injured tissue lacks oxygenation. It has toxins. The body does the best it can to overcome that. When it doesn't recover, it means the cells are not getting what they need."

John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.