Combining chiropractic adjustments with high-energy, non-thermal lasers can benefit patient athletes of all ages.
For young athletes, laser therapy and chiropractic will take them to the next level and get your practice packed. For older athletes, laser therapy can accelerate the repair of fractures by at least 30% and strains/sprains by 21% with violet and green wavelengths.1
Kids start playing organized sports at ages as young as 4-5 and start focusing on a single sport soon after. Close to 60% of kids regularly engage in sports between age 6 and 17,2 often having only one to two weeks off per year. Most pediatricians are out of their scope when it comes to managing the injuries these kids experience and resort to recommending ice and over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers.
Meanwhile, with more seniors playing pickleball, emergency room visits for pickleball injuries have exploded 257% from 2020 to 2022.3 Seventy-three percent of the injuries were in patients aged between 60 and 79 years, and the most common types of injuries were fractures. Treatment recommendations have barely changed in decades, and many pickleball players express frustration at how slowly they repair and their reduced level of play. Worse yet is when their doctor suggests they stop altogether.
This is why I have not needed to do ads for more than 15 years yet have a steady stream of new and returning patients.
The world of sports has changed
In today’s sports world, both high school and college athletes have the ability to earn a substantial amount of money with name, image, licensing (NIL). One of my patients, who I treated when he was a high school baseball player, had a professional agent as a senior, and he signed for more than a million dollars to play college baseball. So, staying injury-free and playing at a high level is a big priority when they see the possible payoffs, and this keeps them coming in regularly.
Your role in helping these athletes get back on the playing field quickly, enhance their overall performance and prevent future injuries is staying current with the latest sports injury techniques. To do this in my practice, I have athletes of all ages come in for “performance enhancement” sessions when they are pain-free. This involves using high-energy, non-thermal violet, green and red lasers to enhance muscle strength, range of motion (ROM) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production by supporting complexes 1-4. Research supports adding adjustments for additional sports performance benefits such as enhanced speed, strength and reaction time.
The cost for enhancing these young athletes’ skills can run into thousands of dollars per year, with parents often hiring specialty coaches, such as a hitting coach, pitting coach, speed coach, strength coach, etc., and investing in the latest new equipment. Why are they spending all this time and money? Simple. They want the prestige and financial benefits of their children earning a scholarship with the rising cost of college tuition.
So, spending money on your treatments is something they would be willing to do when they see the results and realize it could help them reach that NIL deal and a scholarship.
I have many parents who bring in their kids every week of their season (which often never ends for sports like baseball and softball), and also before every big game or scouting combine or showcase. For the pickleball population, I have them come in either on a weekly basis or at minimum once a month for laser enhancement and chiropractic. We don’t wait for pain or an injury; we want to prevent it.
As the volume of participation increases, the rates of injuries have increased as well. Here is a summary of some of the rates:
- 34.1– 65% of adolescent athletes sustained at least one injury across included studies
- Overall injury incidence (all injuries): 1.51 – 2.64 injuries per 1,000 hours of sports participation
- Lower-extremity injuries (combined): 68.7% of all reported injuries involved the lower extremities
- Knee injuries: Accounted for ~29–35% of injuries, most common site for both acute and overuse injuries
- Ankle sprains
- Lumbar/lower-back injuries: Represented ~21% of injuries in overuse-focused studies
- Muscle strains (including lumbar strains)
- Concussions4
All of these injuries respond very well to the non-thermal, high-energy lasers and chiropractic adjustments. One of the most common ones I see are athletes coming in after a concussion complaining they are not performing like they did before, such as being in a batting slump, being unable to track the ball well as a goalie or not having the ability to even hit the ball in pickleball. Here are some examples of how I would treat these injuries to get them back out there faster.
Concussion support: An important consideration is this protocol is for a non-thermal, high-energy laser supported by peer-reviewed research. I will check to see what their issues are, such as balance, eye tracking, coordination, etc., and then I will apply the laser both transcranially and over the carotid arteries. Russian research by Sergey Moskvin shows high-energy visible wavelength lasers can be used over blood vessels to reach deeper tissues. Calixto Machado has also shown that violet laser applied over the vagus nerve can trigger changes on QEEG.5
I use pulse frequencies of 1/10/40/60, and combine violet, green and red. While laser is applied, I will have them do either eye tracking exercises or balance exercises or do mock pitches. When those neuronal pools are activated while you simultaneously laser you can drive the laser energy to that area without direct penetration and enhance results. Patients typically notice a change after the first session. I will typically recommend doing this at least twice weekly until they get back to normal.
Sprain/strain: If they are working with a short time frame, I will have them rent a handheld (usually red/violet combo) and laser on the acute injury settings of 8/25/42/125 for 10 minutes twice daily over the area of involvement, while doing small movements in the range of motion that does not increase pain. We can usually accelerate repair at least 30%, sometimes as much as 50-70%.
In the office, I will start with testing each myotome in the area and look for pain or weakness. If there is pain or weakness, I will laser the muscle belly or nerve root and you can get a palpable increase in muscle strength and ROM in under a minute unless there is a significant tear. I follow that with a 5- to 10-minute laser shower to enhance stem cell production, dampen inflammation, enhance circulation and enhance ATP production. If swelling is present, you can usually see the swelling and even bruising reduce during the visit.
Sports performance enhancement
This is my favorite because of the stories I hear from athletes of all ages. My pickleball players and golfers use it to get an edge over their friends, and elite youth athletes use it in their scholarship, NIL and trophy quests.
You can easily spread the laser diodes out to cover the brain, trunk and legs. I use a line-generated beam that rotates and can cover the whole body like a big solar panel. This triggers a ton of ATP production, glutathione, nitric oxide and stem cells. I usually do 5-10 minutes for this. Follow this with adjustments for a bigger enhancement.
To go next level, I will have laser on the brain and do cardinal fields of gaze and other eye tracking exercises. If you enhance sports vision, you enhance performance overall.
Lastly, I can test the main myotomes in the upper and lower extremity to check for speed of engagement and quality of engagement. If there is something less than optimal, I simply laser the muscle belly or nerve root and within 10-20 seconds you and the patient can both feel that muscle improve. This is my secret weapon for getting extra velocity for pitchers and extra speed for runners.
Final thoughts
The synergy between chiropractic adjustments and high-energy, non-thermal laser therapy is redefining athletic care. For younger athletes, this combination isn’t just about recovery; it’s about unlocking peak performance and giving your practice a competitive edge. For older athletes, the benefits are even more compelling with accelerated tissue repair, optimal results for strains and sprains and reduced downtime. By integrating these advanced techniques, you’re not only helping athletes achieve their goals, you’re positioning your practice at the forefront of sports medicine.
Kirk Gair, DC, has been using high-energy, non-thermal lasers since 2004 and teaching doctors internationally and researching lasers since 2017. His peer-reviewed research on green and violet lasers led to the first FDA clearance for a combination laser of those wavelengths for chronic neck and shoulder pain. He has worked with professional athletes, celebrities, Olympic gold medalists and world record holders; he has also been featured in Kharrazian Institute for Functional Medicine and in Izabella Wentz’s New York Times best-selling book, “Hashimoto’s Protocol.” He has a private practice near Los Angeles, California, and a highly interactive and free Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/drgairlasertherapy). This article was written on behalf of Erchonia.
References
- Wang Y, et al. Photobiomodulation (blue and green light) encourages osteoblastic-differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells: Role of intracellular calcium and light-gated ion channels. Sci Rep. 2016;6:33719. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27650508/. Accessed December 16, 2025.
- Your sports facts. Participation rates. Project Play. The Aspen Institute. https://projectplay.org/youth-sports/facts/participation-rates. Accessed December 16, 2025.
- Cheng R, et al. A substantial increase in injuries and hospitalizations associated with playing pickleball from 2020 to 2022. Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil. 2024;7(2):101067. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40297091/. Accessed December 16, 2025.
- Al-Qahtani MA, et al. Sports-related injuries in adolescent athletes: A systematic review. Cureus. 2023;15(11):e49392. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38146581/. Accessed December 16, 2025.
- Machado C, et al. Vagal nerve stimulation with low level lasers of two different frequencies, assessed by QEEG. Internet J Neurol. 2019;21(1):1-9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335590143_vagal_nerve_stimulation_with_low_level_lasers_of_two_different_frequencies_assessed_by_qeeg. Accessed December 16, 2025.
