Salt Lake County's Top-rated Clinic for Cold Laser Therapy
Written by Dr. Alec Laracuente, NMD, PhD and Dr. Steven Chalk, DC · Freedom Integrated Medicine, South Jordan, UT · Last updated October 2026
Freedom Integrated Medicine in South Jordan, Utah, provides cold laser therapy for back, knee, neck, and joint pain to patients from South Jordan, Draper, and across Salt Lake County. Cold laser therapy is a painless light treatment that calms inflammation and helps injured tissue repair itself, with no medication, no needles, and no surgery. We recommend it most often for arthritis, stubborn back & knee pain, tendon injuries, and nerve pain, frequently alongside decompression and regenerative injections. More than 300 patients have given our clinic five-star Google reviews. New patients start with our $49 New Patient Special, which includes a one-on-one consultation with a doctor, a full exam, and X-rays.
When patients hear the word “laser,” many picture something that cuts or burns. The cold laser therapy we use in our South Jordan clinic does neither. It is a gentle beam of light that passes through the skin into sore joints, muscles, and tendons, reducing inflammation and helping damaged tissue heal.
How Cold Laser Treatment Works on Sore Tissue
The light from a cold laser sits in the red and near-infrared range, gentle enough that you feel mild warmth at most. Once it reaches the tissue underneath, cells absorb it and respond by producing more of the energy they need to repair themselves. In practice, swelling settles, circulation to the area improves so the tissue gets more oxygen, and irritated nerves quiet down. That last effect is why so many patients notice the constant background ache easing before anything else changes.
The research supports what we see in the room. A meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials in BMJ Open found that low-level laser therapy reduced pain and disability in knee osteoarthritis at recommended doses. For the spine, a meta-analysis in The Lancet found laser therapy reduced chronic neck pain for up to 22 weeks after treatment ended, and a separate systematic review found it effective for relieving chronic low back pain.
That is also why laser for pain relief works best as part of a plan. On a worn knee, the laser calms inflamed tissue while decompression takes pressure off the joint, and, when appropriate, PRP injections for knee arthritis give the cartilage a stronger repair signal. On a painful lower back, we often pair it with spinal decompression therapy for discs and sciatica.
What the Research Shows for Each Kind of Pain
Patients often ask whether the studies cover their particular problem. For the conditions we treat most, they do.
Condition
What published research found
What we often pair it with
Knee arthritis
22 placebo-controlled trials (BMJ Open, 2019) showed less pain and disability at recommended doses, with relief peaking two to four weeks after treatment ended and no adverse events reported
Knee decompression and PRP
Chronic neck pain
Wear in the joint surface (osteoarthritis)
Chiropractic care
Chronic low back pain
A bulging or herniated disc pressing on a nerve root (sciatica)
Spinal decompression
Diabetic nerve pain
Whiplash strain in the soft tissue of the neck
Our full neuropathy program
When the American College of Physicians wrote its national guideline for back pain, it listed low-level laser therapy among the non-drug treatments doctors and patients should choose first for chronic low back pain, ahead of reaching for medication. The FDA regulates cold lasers as medical devices, and in 2018 it cleared the first low-level laser specifically for chronic low back pain.
How Cold Laser Therapy Compares With Pills and Cortisone
Most of our laser patients have already spent years on anti-inflammatory pills, cortisone shots, or both, so they want to know how the options compare.
Anti-inflammatory pills (NSAIDs)
Cortisone injections
Cold laser therapy
How it helps
Blocks inflammatory chemicals throughout the whole body
Suppresses inflammation inside one joint for a period of weeks
Gives cells in the painful tissue energy to calm inflammation and repair
Known downsides
The FDA warns that non-aspirin NSAIDs raise the risk of heart attack and stroke, and they can irritate the stomach
No adverse events were reported across the 22 knee trials in the BMJ Open review, and next-day soreness is uncommon and brief
Needles, drugs, downtime
Daily doses for as long as the pain lasts
A needle, with limits on how often it can be repeated
None of the three
After you stop
The ache usually returns within days
Relief tends to fade as the shot wears off
In knee trials, relief kept building for weeks after the last session
From Your First Call to Your First Laser Session
A quick phone call
When you call (801) 571-1338, our friendly front desk staff will get you scheduled for your first visit. Patients drive in from Draper, Sandy, Riverton, Herriman, and West Jordan, most in fifteen to twenty minutes, and there is easy parking at the door.
Your $49 New Patient Special visit
You sit down one-on-one with a doctor to talk through your history, then we do a full exam and take X-rays. We are looking for what is actually generating the pain, whether that is a narrowing knee joint, a disc losing height, or an inflamed tendon.
Your findings and your plan
We walk through your X-rays with you and explain what we recommend and why. We only recommend treatment we believe will help, and if laser therapy is not the right fit, we say so.
What a session feels like
You rest comfortably while the laser is held over the painful area for several minutes. Most people feel mild warmth or nothing at all, and there is no recovery time, so you can drive home and go about your afternoon.
Before your first session
Tell us about every medication and supplement you take. A handful, including the antibiotic doxycycline, the acne drug isotretinoin, the heart-rhythm drug amiodarone, and the herb St. John's wort, make skin more sensitive to light, and we adjust your treatment around them. We avoid aiming the laser directly over dark tattoos, since the ink absorbs light and can warm, and we ask you to skip lotion or sunscreen on the area that day so the light reaches the tissue underneath.
The weeks that follow
Many patients notice the ache easing within the first several sessions, often first as better sleep or easier mornings. We track your progress along the way and adjust the plan as your body responds.
How will you know it is working
We ask patients to watch a few everyday markers in addition to the pain number, such as how long the stiffness lasts after you get out of bed, how many stairs you climb before the knee complains, and how often pain wakes you at night. Those usually improve before the ache itself fades, and they give us a clear picture at each progress check.
Why Patients From South Jordan and Draper Choose Us for Cold Laser Therapy
We are one of the few clinics in Utah that combine integrative and regenerative medicine, so stem cell and PRP injections, chiropractic care, spinal decompression, and cold laser therapy are all available in the same building. An arthritic knee usually needs more than one thing. The inflamed tissue needs calming, the joint needs pressure taken off, and the cartilage may need a regenerative signal, so your plan can fit your knee instead of whatever single machine an office happens to own.
For most laser patients, that is chronic inflammation feeding on a joint or disc under too much load. Pills and cortisone quiet it for a while, and then it returns because nothing changed underneath. When we reduce the inflammation and correct the load together, people get back to work and to evenings on the trail with no prescription to refill and no surgery to recover from.
More than 300 patients have left us five-star Google reviews, thousands have come through our doors since 2020, and the clinic has been featured in the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, and on Telemundo. That record is why we are known as the top-rated and most trusted regenerative medicine clinic in Salt Lake County.
All three of our doctors, Dr. Alec, Dr. Chalk, and Dr. Creer, are bilingual. If Spanish is the language you think in, your exam, findings, and plan are explained directly by the doctor in Spanish, and you can read about back pain treatment in Spanish too.
What Our Patients Say About Cold Laser Therapy
What It Costs to Keep Waiting, and What It Costs to Start
Chronic pain rarely sends a single bill. It shows up as another year of bottles in the medicine cabinet, a cortisone shot every few months, trips you turn down, and eventually the conversation about surgery and months of rehab.
The $49 New Patient Special is a small, clear first step. For less than many copays, you get a one-on-one consultation with a doctor, a full exam, and X-rays, and you leave knowing what is causing your pain and whether cold laser therapy belongs in your plan. Because every body is different, we present your exact plan and its investment at your report of findings and explain everything before you decide anything.
Cold Laser Therapy Questions From Salt Lake County Patients
What is laser therapy for pain?
Laser therapy for pain is a non-invasive treatment that uses low-level red and near-infrared light to reduce inflammation and help injured tissue heal. At Freedom Integrated Medicine in South Jordan, we use it for joints, muscles, tendons, and nerves.
Does cold laser therapy actually work, or is it hype?
Cold laser therapy works when it is delivered at the right dose, and a meta-analysis of 22 placebo-controlled trials found meaningful pain relief in knee arthritis at recommended doses. Trials that used other doses showed little effect, which explains most of the skepticism you read online. We set the dose for each joint based on its depth and the size of the painful area.
What is the difference between cold laser therapy and red light therapy?
Cold laser therapy aims a focused laser beam at one painful structure, while most red light therapy uses LED panels that spread lower-intensity light across a wide area of skin. Both fall under photobiomodulation, the scientific name for using light to change how cells behave. For a deep joint like a knee, hip, or lower back, the focused dose of a clinical cold laser is what reaches the tissue that hurts.
Is cold laser therapy FDA cleared?
Cold lasers are regulated by the FDA as medical devices, and the FDA has cleared specific low-level lasers for temporary relief of muscle and joint pain, arthritis pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and chronic low back pain.
Is laser therapy effective for back pain?
Yes, laser therapy for back pain is effective, and a systematic review of clinical trials found it relieved chronic low back pain. The American College of Physicians also lists low-level laser therapy among the first non-drug treatments to try for chronic low back pain. Results are strongest when we pair it with spinal decompression to take pressure off the discs.
Can laser therapy help with knee pain?
Laser therapy for knee pain is one of the best-studied uses of cold laser treatment, and randomized trials show it reduces pain and improves function in knee arthritis. Our knee pain treatment page explains how we combine it with decompression and PRP.
Does laser therapy work for joint pain?
Yes, laser therapy for joint pain helps knees, hips, shoulders, hands, and ankles by reducing the inflammation that makes joints stiff. Patients with osteoarthritis in several joints can have more than one area treated in a visit.
What is the difference between cold laser therapy and other pain treatments?
Cold laser therapy helps tissue heal, while pain pills and cortisone mainly turn down the pain signal for a while. Laser has no drug side effects and can be repeated without wearing down tissue the way repeated cortisone can.
How many laser therapy sessions do I need for pain relief?
Most patients need a series of cold laser therapy sessions over several weeks, usually two or three visits a week, depending on the condition and how long it has been present. A recent strain usually needs fewer visits than arthritis built up over a decade, and we give you a specific number after your exam. Because relief in the knee trials kept building for two to four weeks after the last session, we judge results a few weeks after the series ends.
Is cold laser therapy safe for pain management?
Cold laser therapy is a very safe option for pain management because its low-level light does not burn or damage tissue. It involves no drugs and no incisions, and we simply avoid the eyes, active cancers, and the abdomen during pregnancy.
How quickly does laser therapy relieve pain?
Many patients feel some relief from laser therapy within the first several sessions, and the benefit tends to build as treatment continues. Easier mornings and better sleep are often the first changes people notice.
What conditions can be treated with laser for pain control?
Laser for pain control is used for osteoarthritis, knee pain, low back pain, neck pain, sciatica, rotator cuff injuries, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and peripheral neuropathy. We also use it to support recovery from sports and auto accident injuries.
Is laser therapy better than surgery for pain?
For most people with arthritis or soft tissue pain, laser therapy is a better first choice than surgery because it carries no surgical risk and needs no recovery time. Surgery is right for some severe structural injuries, and we will tell you if yours is one.
How much does cold laser therapy cost?
The cost of cold laser therapy depends on how many areas we treat and how many sessions your condition needs, and we give you the exact investment at your report of findings before you commit to anything. Your first step is the $49 New Patient Special, which covers a one-on-one consultation, a full exam, and X-rays.
Does insurance cover laser therapy for pain?
Insurance coverage for cold laser therapy varies by plan, and our friendly front desk staff can go over your options with you. We explain the full investment for your personalized plan before you make any decision.
Are there any side effects from cold laser pain treatment?
Cold laser pain treatment has very few side effects, and most patients feel nothing more than mild warmth. None of the 22 knee arthritis trials in the BMJ Open review reported an adverse event. Occasionally someone feels slightly sore the next day as the tissue responds, and it passes quickly.
Who is a good candidate for laser therapy for pain?
A good candidate for laser therapy for pain is anyone with chronic joint, back, tendon, or nerve pain who wants relief without medication or surgery. It suits older adults who cannot take anti-inflammatory drugs or are not ready for a joint replacement especially well.
How does laser pain therapy compare to physical therapy?
Laser pain therapy and physical therapy work well together, because laser calms inflamed tissue while exercise rebuilds strength. Many patients who struggled through physical therapy find they can finally do their exercises once the laser has settled the pain.
Where can I find cold laser therapy near me in Draper?
Freedom Integrated Medicine at 4775 W. Daybreak Parkway in South Jordan offers cold laser therapy about 20 minutes from Draper, most of it a straight drive up Bangerter Highway. Patients also come from Riverton, Herriman, Sandy, and West Jordan, and there is easy parking at the door.
Can I get cold laser therapy with a Spanish-speaking doctor in South Jordan?
Yes, all three doctors at Freedom Integrated Medicine in South Jordan speak Spanish and can examine you, explain your X-rays, and walk through your cold laser therapy plan entirely in Spanish. You can also browse our clinic’s Spanish-language pages.
Why should I choose Freedom Integrated Medicine for cold laser therapy?
Freedom Integrated Medicine is the top-rated and most trusted regenerative medicine clinic in Salt Lake County, treating patients from South Jordan and Draper with cold laser therapy that avoids surgery and medication. More than 300 patients have left the clinic five-star Google reviews. Its licensed doctors have helped thousands of people with arthritis, back pain, and joint pain, and all three treat patients in English and Spanish.
How do I get started with cold laser therapy?
To get started with cold laser therapy, call Freedom Integrated Medicine at (801) 571-1338 or schedule online to book the $49 New Patient Special. That visit includes a consultation, full exam, and X-rays, so we know where the pain comes from before your first session.
Visit Our Cold Laser Therapy Clinic in South Jordan
Our clinic sits on Daybreak Parkway in South Jordan, a few blocks east of the Daybreak Parkway TRAX station at the end of the Red Line, with quick access from the Mountain View Corridor. From Draper, most patients take Bangerter Highway and arrive in about 20 minutes, and people also come to us from Riverton, Herriman, Sandy, West Jordan, and the rest of Salt Lake County. If you have been living around a sore knee or a stiff back and want laser therapy for pain from doctors who explain every step, book your $49 New Patient Special and let us find out what is behind it. We would love to help you get back to the long walks and full nights of sleep you have been missing.
Freedom Integrated Medicine
4775 W. Daybreak Parkway, STE 102, South Jordan, UT 84009
Phone: (801) 571-1338
Hours:
Monday to Wednesday: 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Friday: 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Book your $49 New Patient Special today, and let us help you get back to working, living, playing, and sleeping without pain.
Meet The Doctors
About Your Doctors
Dr. Steven Chalk, DC
Dr. Steven Chalk, DC founded Freedom Integrated Medicine after a bulged disc in his own twenties showed him what it feels like to be told to just live with it. He holds a Bachelor's in Exercise Science from BYU and a Doctorate in Chiropractic from Parker University, has performed more than 75,000 adjustments, and is the author of "The Future of Healing," a book on neuropathy and degenerative knee conditions. Dr. Chalk treats patients in English and Spanish.
Dr. Alec Laracuente, NMD, PhD
Dr. Alec Laracuente, NMD, PhD is a licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctor with a PhD in Integrative Medicine and a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from the University of Turabo, Puerto Rico. He completed a Family Practice and Pain Management Residency at the Institute of Pain Care of the Caribbean and leads our regenerative medicine program for spinal conditions, knee pain, and neuropathy. He treats patients in English and Spanish.
Dr. Dustin Creer, DC
Dr. Dustin Creer, DC earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic and Master's of Sports Medicine from the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon, after an undergraduate degree in Sports and Exercise Science from Utah Valley University. He has trained across multiple chiropractic disciplines and worked with athletes at every level, from youth and amateur to professional and Olympic, and he favors holistic, gentle techniques tailored to each patient. Over his career he has performed well over 100,000 adjustments.