Kevin Gendron owner of Better Athletic Development in Shelton has been using a cold laser to enhance athletic performance and treat injured athletes, speeding up healing time. Better Athletic Development helps athletes improve their speed, strength and conditioning.
"It has been discovered that the laser can have a profound effect on cells in the body. Cells communicate through coherent light. The laser gets all the cells in the body to communicate with each other much better, resetting the body and putting the body in balance if it is out of balance," Gendron said.
He came across the laser after he did a camp at Pomperaug High School. A chiropractor in Bethlehem gave him a demonstration and since then Gendron has been through a certification and training program and has been using it at his facility.
"The laser has a profound effect on strength and flexibility because it gets cells to communicate with each other and increases ATP production," Gendron said. "It increases strength and flexibility in our athletes. Now our athletes will have a major advantage over their opponents."
Gendron has used the laser on numerous athletes young and old. Shelton High School baseball player Marco Garamella injured his arm. After the laser treatment the bruising was reduced and his strength and range of motion were increased, according to Gendron.
"We've had athletes who were injured and initially elected the normal physical therapy rout. After they learned about the laser from me or other athletes in one to three sessions we've gotten them back on the field," Gendron said.
Also, a linebacker on Shelton High School's football team, Geoffrey Schultz, saw significant improvements after only one treatment. Gendron said Schultz was suffering from back spasms and a fractured vertebra but was back on the field a week after the treatment.
The laser also improves performance when there is nothing wrong with an athlete. Chris Paulson, a Shelton soccer player, has very tight hamstrings, Gendron said. After two months of rehab with no results, in one session the laser increased his flexibility by nine inches, Gendron said.
"They keep finding new things this thing has an effect on. I want to use it for performance enhancement of athletes," Gendron said. "If I have an athlete with tight hamstrings, I can increase the flexibility of his hamstrings and when he goes to run, if the athlete has more flexible hamstrings their stride length will increase."
Marathon runner Jamie Eisenberg was suffering from an injury during her training but she had the laser treatment a week before the big event.
"I was in the middle of training for a marathon and I had an injury around my hamstring and into my hip. It hurt especially to run for longer distances. I got the cold laser treatment twice the week before my marathon and it didn't bother me. I had no trouble whatsoever," Eisenberg said.
The laser also had good results with chronic pain, Gendron said. Furniture restorer Art Zielo had been suffering from chronic lower back pain for 20 years and had tried everything to help. Nothing worked until the laser.
"I had lower back pain and they did a full body treatment on me. It really alleviated the lower back pain," Zielo said. "I've had chronic lower back pain for more than 20 years and I've tried everything."
Gendron said the therapy can greatly improve performance.
"After a cold laser evaluation all muscles are flexible. An athlete will be at their optimal performance level and that's why we incorporated it into our program as another means to give our athletes the edge," Gendron said.
Each laser session takes between 10 and 45 minutes and will immediately increase strength, range of motion, increase ATP production and decrease the potential for injury, Gendron said.
"It was pretty easy. Kevin just puts this laser on your leg and he does these stretches with you for 15 or 20 minutes," Eisenberg said.
Zielo said that you don't feel a thing.
"It's amazing. I don't understand how it works but it does. You just sit on a table and they run this light over you. You don't feel anything," Zielo said. "I was much looser and all my joints were relaxed following the treatment."
Zielo had the original treatment in September and has been back several times for additional treatments.
"It's alleviated my back pain that's the best recommendation I can give it," Zielo said.
Zielo credits his improvement to Gendron's skill at using the laser.
"A person can't just pick up the laser and wave a light. It's Kevin's knowledge of the body that plays a part in what he does," Zielo said. "He is highly knowledgeable and skilled. I don't know that the laser in somebody else's hands that wasn't as skilled as Kevin would have gotten the same results."
Gendron completed a two month, hands-on certification and training program in August and has been using the laser since September of this year.
More than 1,700 studies conducted on the low level laser showed that it does promote joint flexibility and strength. The only company approved by the FDA to make the laser is Erchonia. The technology is used by doctors, physical therapists, and on burn victims to regenerate skin cells, Gendron said.
Gendron said most people are skeptical about the laser at first but after seeing it in action they are won over.
"Most people say the same thing: I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Gendron said. "It sounds too good to be true. Until you see it you can't comprehend what this thing can do."
Gendron recommends the laser evaluation for any athlete looking to improve performance.
"I would say any athlete should definitely use it, particularity athletes with flexibility issues," he said. "Then I would say athletes with minor injuries such as slight ankle sprains should use it."
Gendron said he has parents come and request treatment too.
"After they see what happens with their kid, they come in saying my neck's been killing me. We do some range of motion testing on them and within minutes they feel 100 percent better," Gendron said.
For more information about BAD or a cold laser evaluation call Gendron at 924-2230. For more information about the laser visit www.erchonia.com.