Laser CO2 Versus TENS After Reconstruction of the Rotator Cuff

Shoulder Impingement Syndrome

Compression of the rotator cuff tendons and subacromial bursa between the humeral head and structures that make up the coracoacromial arch and the humeral tuberosities. This condition is associated with subacromial bursitis and rotator cuff (largely supraspinatus) and bicipital tendon inflammation, with or without degenerative changes in the tendon. Pain that is most severe when the arm is abducted in an arc between 40 and 120 degrees, sometimes associated with tears in the rotator cuff, is the chief symptom. (From Jablonski's Dictionary of Syndromes and Eponymic Diseases, 2d ed)

Angioplasty, Laser

A technique utilizing a laser coupled to a catheter which is used in the dilatation of occluded blood vessels. This includes laser thermal angioplasty where the laser energy heats up a metal tip, and direct laser angioplasty where the laser energy directly ablates the occlusion. One form of the latter approach uses an EXCIMER LASER which creates microscopically precise cuts without thermal injury. When laser angioplasty is performed in combination with balloon angioplasty it is called laser-assisted balloon angioplasty (ANGIOPLASTY, BALLOON, LASER-ASSISTED).

Rotator Cuff

The musculotendinous sheath formed by the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor muscles. These help stabilize the head of the HUMERUS in the glenoid fossa and allow for rotation of the SHOULDER JOINT about its longitudinal axis.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Laser-assisted

Techniques using laser energy in combination with a balloon catheter to perform angioplasty. These procedures can take several forms including: 1, laser fiber delivering the energy while the inflated balloon centers the fiber and occludes the blood flow; 2, balloon angioplasty immediately following laser angioplasty; or 3, laser energy transmitted through angioplasty balloons that contain an internal fiber.

Laser Therapy, Low-level

Treatment using irradiation with LASER light of low power intensity so that the effects are not due to heat, as in LASER THERAPY. These non-thermal effects are thought to be mediated by a photochemical reaction that alters CELL MEMBRANE PERMEABILITY, leading to increased mRNA synthesis and CELL PROLIFERATION. Low-level laser therapy has been used for a wide variety of conditions, but most frequently for wound healing and pain control.