What is it? And how does it work?
Shockwave was first introduced in 1982 for the treatment of kidney stones. Shockwave’s overwhelming success with little to no complications instigated its use for other concerns, including the treatment of sports injuries.
Today, its use in treating and rehabilitating various injuries is extensive and well supported by research. How it works; for the physics buffs, shockwaves are low-frequency, high amplitude waves pulsed into damaged tissue to promote a long-term positive healing response and short-term pain relief.
There are two main theories for how this happens:
- Immediate relief of pain (days/weeks) occurs as the shockwaves exhaust your nerves of their ability to transmit pain.
- The long-term benefits (months +) promote healing and regeneration due to increased blood flow to the area of pain.
What can it help with?
- Tennis Elbow
- Achilles Pain
- Plantar Fasciitis (heel pain)
Summary
Due to its success, shockwave is fast becoming a widely recommended treatment option for those struggling with persistent pain. We are excited to have shockwave available at Physiosports. We can now use this as another treatment option available to our patients in combination with our other strategies and excellent standard of care.
Would you like to know more? Click here to go to the Shockwave Therapy services page.
References
Chaussy C, Schmiedt E, Jocham D, Brendel W, Forssmann B, Walther V. First clinical experience with extracorporeally induced destruction of kidney stones by shock waves. Jour Urol 1982;127: 417-420
