MDNews - Minnesota

factors are very low and are comparable to the low risk of physical therapy; the worst that's going to happen is that it's not going to relieve a patient's pain. As a neurosurgeon with a very conservative approach to surgery, I feel it is important to explore and encourage phototherapy on a clinical level as another valuable precursor to surgical intervention." The Sentinel Laser Center offers low-level laser and superluminous diode treatments. Patient treatment starts with a thorough medical assessment and monitors the patient's progress through a customized phototherapy plan of treatment. "Our approach is guided by the medical evaluation," he explains. "For some patients, we will use a large electrode array. If the examination shows that facet joints are tender, and if there's focal inflammation and pain, we will also treat with pinpoint laser. Each therapy session is between 30 minutes and one hour in duration, and an initial series of six treatments is typically recommended to establish and observe the clinical response." One of Dr. Burton's phototherapy patients presented with pain, spasms and progressive weakness of her lower extremi- ties. She had previously been diagnosed with inclusion body myositis and was told this progressive disease was not treatable and that she faced life in a wheelchair. "In the course of our examination," relates Dr. Burton, Neurosurgeon Charles Burton, M.D., has maintained a continuing focus on pain treatment using nonsurgical therapies. Evidence-based protocols and results are the focus of medical practice, but Dr. Burton makes the case that innovation must continue to be part of that process, especially when alternative therapies represent a cost-effective option for quality care in a health care system increasingly strained by rising costs. "We are only beginning to really understand how pho- totherapy works," says Dr. Burton. "The science indicates that the low level of light accelerates tissue healing at both metabolic and cellular levels. The clinical effectiveness of phototherapy to treat dermatological conditions and wounds has been physically assessed and documented. Demonstrating the effectiveness of phototherapy to relieve back and joint pain is much more challenging. We can assess pain reduction by asking patients to fill out different scoring measures, but these still remain subjective." "All medicine is based on risk versus benefit," he says. "As a neurosurgeon, I know the risks associated with surgery: possible mortality, paralysis, nerve injury, wound infection, blood clots and drug reactions. I recommend surgery only when I believe the risk is small and the potential benefit is high for the patient. Spine surgery to relieve pain has a very high risk. In comparison, phototherapy is an inherently noninjurious, noninvasive and cost-effective option. The risk 8 | Twin Cities MD NEWS n MDNEWS.COM "we found that part of her pain was caused by a previously undiagnosed bursitis. We had her treated for bursitis, did some physical therapy and initiated phototherapy. The therapy relieved a great deal of her pain, alleviated her spasm and increased her motor function. She's delighted, and so are we. This is the kind of patient story that makes us very excited about noninvasive and inherently safe therapy." "Medicine is both an art and a science," observes Burton. "At this stage of the game, phototherapy is a lot of art. However, the science is catching up." This year, Dr. Burton founded the Minnesota Medical Phototherapy Association with Minneapolis internist Jason Reed, M.D., as a means of promoting greater awareness of medical approaches to phototherapy. The association's goal is to bring Twin Cities medical practitioners of phototherapy together to share their experiences and to promote patient education. Drs. Burton and Reed hope to utilize multidisciplinary perspec- tives to develop a unified approach to phototherapy protocols. "We want to be a source of information about phototherapy treatment in the Twin Cities medical community and to increase awareness of this cost-effective, low-risk therapy," Dr. Burton concludes. "We welcome calls from physicians to discuss light therapy in more detail, and we would be happy to have interested physicians tour our facility. Our hope is to encourage our medical community to consider phototherapy as a precursor to more invasive treatments, most particularly spinal surgery, in the treatment of pain." For more information, contact Dr. Burton, or his associates, at Sentinel Medical Associates, PA, in St. Paul, or visit the websites: www.burtonreport.com; sentinellasercenter.com. n

• Cover