Business Innovators Radio - Navigating Pain Relief: Dr. Mark Goodman on the Benefits of Class 4 Laser Therapy

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

In this episode, Dr. Mark Goodman shares how Class 4 laser therapy is being used to help patients reduce pain and recover faster without surgery.With more than 30 years of experience in chiropractic care, Dr. Goodman explains how laser therapy works at a cellular level—using light energy to reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and support tissue repair.The conversation covers how this approach is being used for common conditions like back pain, neuropathy, and other musculoskeletal issues, along with what patients can expect during treatment.Dr. Goodman also discusses why conservative, non-invasive care should often be considered before more aggressive options, and how combining therapies can improve outcomes.Key Takeaways– Class 4 laser therapy helps reduce inflammation and support healing– Used for conditions like back pain, neuropathy, and joint issues– Treatment is non-invasive and typically painless– Patients may experience faster recovery and improved mobility– Best results often come from combining therapies– A collaborative, patient-centered approach leads to better outcomesResources & LinksKitsap Spine and WellnessRelief Now Laser CentersThe Optimal Health Showhttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/optimal-health-show/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/navigating-pain-relief-dr-mark-goodman-on-the-benefits-of-class-4-laser-therapy

It's time to put your health in your own hands. Get ready to learn from today's top health and wellness innovators and thought leaders on optimal health radio. Now, here's your host. Hi, everyone. This is Dr. Tamara Patser, and today we have a wonderful guest, Dr. Mark Goodman, and he is a chiropractic physician with more than 32 years of clinical experience. and he's the founder of Kitsap Spine and Wellness in Silverdale, Washington. Welcome, Doctor. Thank you.

This is pretty interesting because your background is chiropractic care, neuromuscular therapy, spinal decompression, rehabilitation exercise, and advanced class for laser therapy. And today we're going to take a deeper look at the class for laser therapy because some people, you know, maybe when they think about a laser, maybe they're thinking about how it might be used on skin or maybe they don't even look at it as a regenerative medical science. Maybe they're, you know, seeing laser tag. you know, I don't know. So this should be a very interesting topic. Tell me, Mark, how did you get interested in being a chiropractor in, in laser therapy in particular? Oh, gosh.

The laser, let's go there first because the laser is something. something that is highly utilized in the therapeutic realm. I mean, yes, we do know that lasers are, you know, something that we use in medical. Of course, we can excise tissues. We can do all kinds of surgeries. But there's another part of that, that there is a therapeutic part of that in which sometimes when tissues become, you know, too inflamed and they become swollen and painful, that you can use the lasers to therapeutically change the tissue.

issues for health, you know, which is, which is great. The body system loves light. And so just like plants, we do have a need to have sun. So we take a part of the spectrum of that light and we use it in order to heal the cells and actually help help the cells, you know, stabilize and actually get better. So, so I love that because people often forget that we do require sunlight. I mean, for example, vitamin D production is a good example of that. So tell me a little bit more about your background. Again, why did you decide to get into the healing field in the first place?

Yeah, no, I was basically, I was a patient, you know, of a chiropractor back when I was 16, you I had gotten injured in a soccer game. And anyway, I had a pretty bad low back injury that actually took me out of soccer for a while. And, of course, I had to see a chiropractor for quite a while because I had actually an injured disc, you know, in my low back. And so the chiropractor helped me quite a bit in order to get back on the field. And actually, he wants the same chiropractor that talked me into chiropractor. after it was all time. So treated and influenced by a chiropractor.

So basically you had a positive experience and a healing experience through chiropractic. And so it's like, hey, I'd like to do this. So 32 years, that's quite impressive in terms of the length of time that you've been doing it. Tell me more about class four laser and why you added it to your practice. Yeah, there's a there was there's a high need. We also in the, you know, in the clinic, we actually do non-surgical spinal decompression. And of course, we do chiropractic and exercise. But one part that I see quite often is that when people are coming in, you know, those, like, you know, let's just take low back for an instant.

People come in. They're very painful. It's difficult for them to get to, you know, the exercises that we need in order to help them stabilize. So in order to speed up the healing process, because they are so much in pain and inflamed, that the lasers help in order to stabilize that tissue, make them so that we're able to regenerate the tissues quicker. So one, they can tolerate the care. And two, it helps some get back in their life because, you know, really the bottom line is that people are being restricted, you know, in their life from doing the things that are most important to them. And so to help them regenerate that tissue so they can get back into exercise so they can get back in their life is one of the most important things. So laser really is one of those things that help us accelerate that process. process. So you mentioned that when you were 16 that you had the lower back injury. What about the neuropathy? Didn't you experience some neuropathy also? Oh, yeah. No, actually that was a different

story. So about, you know, in my 28th year of practice, I actually was bending over people so much that I crushed on the discs in my low back. And that created a very serious problem. one that almost took me out of my practice. And I had to receive care in order to get back into chiropractic. But during that process, I also had peripheral neuropathy that showed up in both my legs. And also it created a lot of weakness. So again, you know, coming back to using, you know, laser therapy, light therapy, in order to heal the tissues.

It was one of the things that was the most important for me, person. as a patient of a chiropractor in order to get better. So it's interesting because, you know, just in our short time we've been speaking, you've already mentioned how class four laser therapy has helped with lower bat pain issues. And then now you've talked about the neuropathy issues. What other types of pains are there that class four laser? or regenerative medical laser can help.

Yeah, it can help neck problems. You know, it can be anything from injury. So if a person has taken a slip or fall, they've injured their, you know, maybe their shoulder or their neck, or if they've been into an automobile injury in which they've gotten, you know, like a whiplash injury and they've hurt themselves.

So both the, you know, both the injury types that are very acute and also the things that are chronic, like you've been living with it for many, many years. That can be applied to the neck, the shoulder, the hip, the knee, the ankle, anywhere that there is, you know, any part of your body, it can help. It can help with TMJ. It can help with headaches because of, you know, things that are maybe coming from the neck.

There are many different applications. So it's very wide. So basically head to toe. is a good, good way to think of it. And then I know that everybody in their mind, they're going, okay, sounds good, but how long is this going to take? And does it hurt? Yes.

No, it doesn't hurt right off a bad. Matter of fact, it feels very wonderful. So when you're taking that very kind of intense light beams and you're getting deep and penetrating to the tissue, usually the pain goes away. It goes away. It doesn't get worse, which is great. And to the length of time is we're always going to depend on, you know, what the person has.

You know, so if they're injured, it's going to take a lot, you know, it's going to be a little a little bit longer. In some instances, the chronic problems and like, let's say chronic, let me chronic neck problem, that could take anywhere between four and six weeks to have a real good outcome. a benefit that a person is looking for. But usually right off the bat, the person's going to feel a relief right away. So some type of relief right away, but obviously the healing takes longer because the body is what is actually healing.

Can you talk about that a little bit about the, and you said it right away, the body likes light, but what exactly is happening when you are using? this laser on these specific body parts and their pain points. And in your mind, a part of Relief Now's philosophy is ditch the drug, skip the scalpel. And is that something that people should be thinking about when they're considering laser therapy? Yes, because it's one of those things where oftentimes the tissue just needs a chance to heal. You know, of course, it's going to be temetted on the severity of the problem. However, there's many cases that I've had where they may have gone to an orthopedic surgeon,

and, of course, they were recommending, you know, surgery for their low back. And with the combinations of using laser and maybe some decompression and some other therapies, very conservatively, many times we can actually take that and we can turn that around, and heal those tissues so that we don't have to, you know, go through a surgical procedure. And that's not to say that the orthopedic surgery is incorrect. It's just giving the body a chance in order to heal first just to see what happens. But yes, you know, when we're using that laser therapy, we're getting deep into those tissues. You know, every cell has an engine.

And, of course, sometimes that engine is being choked. So that laser helps in order to restart those engines for those cells to heal. And so the greater chance that you give them to heal, the better you can stabilize that condition and then get them, you know, back in their life. So I know that a lot of orthopedics and orthopedic surgeons actually will say to one of their patients, you know, check out laser therapy to see if that can help you. And then also, obviously, when you work in concert with these other specialists, is that your experience that you're working with these all kinds of doctors? And everyone obviously is trying to get the optimal health for each patient. Is that your experience? Oh, yes.

You know, it's important to have that interprofessional relationships between the orthopedics, neurologist, internal medicine, you know, general practitioners, it's important that, you know, we, you know, we give them the information and the update on all the patients that we're seeing so that they have an understanding that, yes, we can, we can help patients by doing these procedures. They are very well understanding of, you know, what kind of therapies that are out there. It's just not in their specialty sometimes. So we just help to fulfill that part and partner with them in order to get them better. So in your practice, obviously you have the laser therapy. What are some of the complementary programs that you also offer your patients beyond the chiropractic

or the laser regenerative laser medicine? Some of the complementary things that we do, of course, is non-surgical spinal decompression, you know, especially when it comes to desk problems and degenerated spines. Exercise therapy or exercises, you know, that a person should take on. Those are things that really should be considered. Every person that comes through the door oftentimes, you know, they either are not doing exercises in order to help them become flexible and become strong. So the other thing is making sure that they are getting those components so that they can have,

you know, longevity, you know, within their life. Because it's important. I mean, we are a machine. We are moving all day long. And oftentimes that machine breaks down. And, of course, if we don't train those, you know, train those body parts to do what they're supposed to do, we get in trouble. We break down.

We can actually have further degenerative conditions and further injuries. And that's what we're trying to, you know, we're trying to prevent. Can you walk me through what, like, an initial business? that might look like and how long it would take and what the process is that you go through to evaluate your patients? Yeah, we definitely go through a very inclusive consultation. We really dive, you know, deep dive into the persons, you know, in their life and how it's affecting them, you know, their problems and how it's restricting their life.

So we really want to understand how long it's been, when did it come home? on, you know, we really want to deep dive into the consultation. After that, we do a comprehensive examination, making sure that we are looking at how they're moving, we are palpating their spine, making sure that we understand where these problems are and to do an orthopedic and neurological, you know, examinations. And if need be getting into x-rays to making sure that if wherever that body part problem might be, looking at the, you know, the bones and the joints and making sure that we understand what's going on deep down into the, into the either the spinal systems or the extremities. We really want to come through that.

After that, we do a review of their problems and get them a treatment plan so that they understand what's involved in their treatment plans. And, of course, you know, making sure that they understand, you know, any of the financials that are, you know, in that treatment plan so that they can, you know, plan financially in order to get the help that they need. So you take them through the entire educational process, so there are no surprises about anything, basically. No surprises. That's great. So I wanted to ask a little bit more about that you're in the beautiful Puget Sound area in the state of Washington. what are the chief complaints or the chief issues that you see regularly in your practice?

Oh, you know, there's always the three main things that I see the often, you know, very often, blowback problems, neck problems, and headaches. Those are like the number one and number fourth and six problems in the United States. So I see those, you know, quite often. versus that's accompanying with headaches. I get quite a few people that come in with shoulder problems. Knee problems. I think knee problems is even higher on the list.

There's a lot of degenerative conditions within knee problems. And, of course, we can have, you know, forearm and wrist problems. I mean, we, we love our, you know, we love our golfing around here. So I'll get people with golfers' elbows, you know, tennis elbows. I get people that have problems with their ankles because they're runners around here. So I see quite a few different things. Hopefully, hopefully that helps. That's interesting.

With the upsurge of pickleball, are you seeing pickleball injuries? And what are those injuries? Yeah, I don't think that I see as many pickleball injuries, although that it is becoming much more popular. But I do see golf, you know, golf and tennis. So those are probably very common sports that we see around here. what would you say, do you work with all ages or do our most of your patients in a certain age group? I think that the most, you know, when we look back pretty much anywhere from about 28 to about 68, you know, give or take, I do have my elders.

I do see a lot of Medicare patients that are, you know, beyond that point. the younger crowds, I don't quite see them as much. I do have parents that actually bring in their teenagers because they're in sports and they've had a sports injury. But I would say that the average is anywhere between, like I said, probably 28 to 68. It's usually about the median range. So overall, would you say that your patients are active? Are they active people?

or are they people that should have been active? And now they're just going, uh-oh, it's time. And if so, give a little message to each one of those groups. You know, is it too late if you have not been an active person? And what about the active people? How do you keep it so that you can be active well into your whatever years? let's say your active senior years or your active third and fourth stages of life, whatever that might be.

Oh, gosh, that is a great question. Yes, I do see people that, you know, come in because they've been active and sometimes they get injured because of their activities. But I would say that the majority are the inactive. And it's amazing that people can have damage, you know, by, let's say that they work on a regular basis and they don't exercise and they do a lot of sitting. They may be in administration or whatever. And of course, you know, the sitting can be just as bad. And so I see a lot of inactive people that get injured. They come in. They have, well, maybe it's a lot of degeneration.

You know, of course, degeneration is a part of an injury to a cell, you know, to the cellular system. So, yes, that's a very common problem. But yes, there's a wide spectrum. But I would say the inactives are actually a little bit more than the active. So. So if somebody has been inactive and they do have degeneration, is the class for regenerative laser medicine something that will help their body like rejuvenate itself or I don't know if that's the correct word. But how does that part work? Like me, I sit a lot in front of a computer. You know, my neck, I've got rock shoulders. I can feel it in the lower back.

I mean, I'm probably the ideal person who's like set for a majority of their life in the work, you know, in front of a computer. Yeah, that's a great question. So, you know, coming back to the laser in order to use that as a front to get the tissues to respond. So we talked about the regenerative nature. When we are shining a very light, bright, you know, a bright light into the tissues, it helps the tissues to respond. It helps them to grow. It helps them to stabilize, which is a great adjunct to other things that we would do in

the clinic. But it's wonderful when a person can, you know, start to loosen up because you talked about sitting and kind of having rock shoulders. Like, we want to make sure that, you know, we are getting, getting the muscle. and the things that are around those areas, softer, more flexible. That helps also, too, with a person mentally and emotionally. So it's important that, you know, we use these therapies in order to heal those tissues and get them to, you know, to be stable.

So they can, you know, do like what you're doing. It's like if you're wanting to sit for a long period of time, you know, because that's, that's what you love to do. It's like, we've got to help you, you know, help you achieve, you know, those things and continue to do those. and then also help lead you to into kind of therapies that help sustain you so that after you're done,

it's like you can get back into your health again. Well, I think that's really important, and it's not that I love to sit. It just happens to be that that's my job. With that, I wanted to ask an additional question, two more questions. One is, who should not use class four laser or laser therapy. That's my one question. And I'll save the other one, but who shouldn't be

looking at this? Just so that I want to make sure people understand that it's good for many, many people, but there are a few people who shouldn't be looking at it. Yeah, the seriousness of cancer, you know, anybody who has cancer shouldn't ever do that. You know, when we talk about regenerative, you know, the lasers help for tissues to grow, but we don't want to stimulate, you know, a cancer patient, you know, wherever they may have their problems. Like, you, that like can stimulate cancer cells. We don't want that. So cancer is absolute no. What was your other question? I'm so sorry. I'm just thinking about there's so many questions. I know that that your average person has. And I think really what my big question is, you know, what my big question is,

is, is if somebody wants to talk to you and have a consultation, how do they reach out to you? What is the best way to do that? Oh, we, you know, directly to our office, of course, we, you can reach us by phone. You can reach us by email. We have a couple different ways to do that. We can also do a Zoom meeting, you know, if a person is very busy and sometimes they are in every once in a while, we will also take an appointment by them via Zoom in order to find out, you know, do a little consultation over Zoom just to make sure that we understand what kind of

problem that they have so that we can see if that's something that we should take a further look into. So there are a couple different options. I like that because telemedicine, it is very convenient, especially if it, you know, know, that way, if you are in pain, you don't have to get in the car and drive anywhere. So that makes a lot of sense. So everyone, we have been speaking with Dr. Mark Goodman, and he is with the Kitsap spine and wellness in Silverdale, Washington. Did I say, is it Silverdale, Washington? Was that right?

And again, my big claim to fame is that I used to visit. the Seattle area when I lived in Oregon and we would drive the 500 miles up to the Seattle area. And of course, it is a very beautiful area of the country. And like you said, Dr. Mark, it is an area where many people have a very active lifestyle. They play golf. They go for walks. They run. They hike.

They climb mountains. They go fishing. They have gardens. I mean, it is a beautiful place to actually live because you just have so much outdoor activity. And it's a beautiful lifestyle. So before I let you go, is there anything that you'd like to add? And just to let you know, Dr, we do have show notes. So all of your information is available for everyone to take advantage of.

do you have one message that you would like to leave with our listeners today? Yeah, you know, it's, you know, if your life is being interfered, you know, whatever problem that might be, you know, if your life is being interfered with, you know, if your life is being interfered with because there are things that you cannot do, then there's, you know, I urge you to at least, you know, come in and consult with me. let me take a look at your problem. Let me see if there's some things that I can do for you because having a life that is being interfered by a problem that you may have, there are solutions out there. They're very low-key on very helpful,

conservative things that can be done. So I just urge you that, you know, whether it be a headache or a neck problem or low back or shoulder, or it doesn't matter. Give us a call. Let us consult. with you. Let us take a look at you. Let's see if we can help you, you know, get back into your life to do the things that you want to do. That makes a difference for you. Well, thank you so much.

So everyone, we have been speaking with Dr. Mark Goodman. And this is Dr. Tammy Patser, Dr. Tamara Patser. And this is Optimal Health. And it's sponsored by Relief Now Laser Methods, Relief Now, Laser Methods, Relief Now Laser Centers, which is available nationwide. Thank you so much. I learned a lot. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Dr. Tammy. You've been listening to today's top health and wellness innovators and thought leaders on

Optimal Health Radio. To get more solid health and wellness information, visit optimal health radio.com.