What is shockwave treatment used for?

Shockwave therapy is a multidisciplinary device used in orthopedics, physiotherapy, sports medicine, urology and veterinary medicine. Its main assets are rapid pain relief and restoration of mobility. Along with being a non-surgical therapy without the need for analgesics, it is an ideal therapy to accelerate recovery and cure various indications that cause acute or chronic pain.

Shockwave therapy

It is often used as a non-invasive treatment option for kidney stones and orthopedic injuries. Recently, urologists have started using this therapy to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Shockwave therapy is an innovative therapy that can target specific pain in bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. It is a non-invasive treatment that can be administered on an outpatient basis and provides significant or total pain relief in the vast majority of patients.

The main benefits of shockwave are pain relief and function restoration. Shockwave therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment modality for a variety of common tendon ailments, including plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, and tennis elbow. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a non-invasive treatment that involves the delivery of shockwaves to injured soft tissues to reduce pain and promote healing. After treatment is complete, you can return home and return to work and normal daily activities immediately.

Essentially, this causes microtrauma to the tissue and, therefore, the treatment is likely to cause some discomfort or pain at the site of injury. Through the process of neovascularization, shockwave therapy encourages greater blood flow to the area and therefore faster healing without the need for addictive analgesics. Record pain intensity, upper and lower limb functionality, and quality of life before shock wave treatment, immediately after treatment and follow-up for 4 weeks. The latter are unable to break the sound barrier and produce the positive effects of shock wave therapy.

On the other hand, shock wave therapy offers fairly quick pain relief and cure with an effectiveness of more than 70% in just a maximum of 5 treatments. Shockwave therapy is a modern method used to treat shoulder injuries, chronic Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, elbow tendinopathies and chronic stages of myofascial syndrome (muscle pain). It is recommended that patients refrain from physical activity, especially one involving the treated region, for approximately 48 hours after each treatment session. During treatment, a small rod-like device uses directed sound waves to stimulate penile tissue and encourage blood flow, which can also speed up the healing process.

Ilieva, Minchev and Petrova (1) also used 2,500 pulse radial shock wave therapy and performed a total of 5 treatments one per week. Cacchio et al (2) reported a study with high-energy shockwaves versus sham treatment, which showed a significant reduction in pain and increased function between 4 weeks and 6 months of follow-up. More research and clinical trials may be needed to elucidate the ideal parameters of shockwave therapy effectiveness.