What is Shockwave Therapy?

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Shockwave Therapy (SWT), also known as extracorporeal shockwave therapy, is similar to ultrasound wand.  SWT can jump-start the body's ability to regenerate new tissue and speed up the healing process.  It can also decrease your pain by directly stimulating your nerves at the site of the injury.

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It is often prescribed as a treatment for patients who have sports injuries like a golfer's elbow, tennis elbow, patellar tendonitis, or pulled hamstring, but is also administered to patients who experience pain in their soft tissues such as plantar fasciitis.

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SWT was developed in Germany during the late 1960s.  Researchers began studying the effects of shockwaves on the human body and discovered that they affected different parts of the body in different ways.  In the 1990s, scientists began to study the effects of high-energy shockwave therapy on soft tissue injuries.  Both high-energy and low-energy shockwave treatments work by sending pulses of energy to the injured area.  

 

SWT may be used to increase circulation around injured soft tissues, break down calcified deposits like kidney stones, stimulate cell that generate new bone tissue and connective tissue, and reduce pain by overstimulating nerve endings in the affected area.

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In our office, we use clinical grade shockwave therapy systems that induce an intracellular and extracellular reactions to assist in the healing and recovery of soft tissue.  Shockwave technology theory works by a deep penetrating focused wave that activate cells, driving the formation of new cells that replace damaged tissues. Shockwave therapy accelerates blood flow to the treated area and may induce vasodilation and angiogenesis restoring and improving musculoskeletal tissue.

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There are no side effects of SWT.  It's a non-surgical therapy option that delivers great results with no lingering down-time. It may be combined with other therapies to accelerate healing in soft tissues and helps them regenerate.