BOSTON -- A new painless laser treatment can help sufferers of chronic pain, doctors said.

NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner reported that it's a common treatment for professional athletes, including seven-time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong who used it to get rid of his pain.

"There's no pain, there's no heat," said Dr. Arnold Glenn, a chiropractor at the Pain Relief Center in Dedham.

The cold laser is becoming more popular because it is non-invasive, experts said. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001 to treat anyone with any type of chronic pain. Glenn has been using it for two years.

"Most of the patients that come in are for either acute or chronic neck back pain, leg extremity pain, elbow and wrist," Glenn said.

Cold laser therapy works with a red light that stimulates cells through the skin, which alleviates pain and speeds up the healing process.

"The products that cause the inflammation are being circulated away so the inflammation goes down and now range of motion improves and the pain level decreases," Glenn said.

Exercise is part of the therapy, too. The different moves challenge the muscles making them stronger, helping patients feel better.

Lisa Verrochi said there was a time when she couldn't get out of bed and conventional therapies did not help. She said is finally feeling stronger after only a few cold laser treatments.

"Now that I'm doing this treatment, it seems as though I'm getting more relief and being able to do the activities," she said.

The cold laser could have other uses, experts said. When professional figure skater Melissa Gregory recently fractured her foot, her doctor used a cold laser to heal the break instead of a cast. Only four days later, she was back on the ice and her fracture had healed.

The laser is not covered by insurance. Glenn said one treatment costs about $25 and usually a few treatments are needed.