Laser treatment shows promise in treating COVID-19 symptoms
https://www.wcvb.com/amp/artic…ovid-19-symptoms/36111395
Coronavirus vaccine news dominates the headlines right now but as cases and hospitalizations increase, there is still a need for treatments. A small study finds laser treatment may hold promise for COVID-19 symptoms.
"Of course, we had no idea if this was going to work. I mean, it was a scary time," said Dr. Scott Sigman, an orthopedic surgeon we joined back in 2019 as he demonstrated the cold laser therapy he uses at his Chelmsford clinic to treat chronic pain. Pain that can often be caused by inflammation.
That reality struck him as researchers learned more about COVID-19.
"I'm thinking to myself 'The cytokine storm, what is it? It's this crazy inflammation.' What if we could take the laser, which worked so well on the musculoskeletal stuff and try it on the lungs?" Sigman said.
He got the green light from the Food and Drug Administration to perform a small study at Lowell General Hospital. Five patients underwent laser treatments on their lungs: 28 minutes a day, four days in a row. In one patient, the results were surprising.
"I'll never forget it. We saw the pulse oximeter increasing immediately as the treatment was going. He was breathing better and he asked for a strawberry milkshake. I was like, 'Oh my God, maybe we're on to something here.'" Sigman said.
The results of the study were just published in the Journal of Inflammation Research, including chest X-rays taken the day after the last treatment. The before and after images of the patients who received treatment showed improvement, while those in the control group did not or worsened.
"The virus still has to get eradicated through the normal process but the crazy inflammation that creates that ground glass appearance in the lungs and the patients can't breathe, requiring mechanical ventilation, that process gets blocked," Sigman said.
The treatment has potential to help those struggling with long-haul COVID-19 symptoms. Rhonda Wojtas was diagnosed last May, but her symptoms lingered into the fall.
"A lot of it was the fatigue, the exhaustion, but the biggest part at that point was my shortness of breath, coughing," Wotjas said.
She was already a patient of Sigman's, using a laser to treat shoulder pain. Last December, he suggested the treatment for those persistent COVID-19 symptoms.
"The third treatment they're like, 'Well how're you doing? I'm like, you know? I'm not coughing. I'm not as short of breath. I can walk up the stairs,'" Wotjas said.
"I didn't expect it so I wasn't really looking for it, so I was very surprised when I realized it really did help."
Wotjas' experience is anecdotal at this point. Sigman wants to conduct a small trial to test whether the laser helps with long-haul COVID-19 symptoms. He's looking to enroll interested patients right now. For more information, click here.