Shockwave Therapy A New Tool In Physiotherapy

Shockwaves are acoustic waves with an extremely high energy peak like the ones which occur in the atmosphere after an explosive event such as a lightning strike or a sonic boom. A shockwave treatment differs from ultrasound therapy (another commonly used treatment modality by physiotherapists) by its extremely large pressure amplitude, as well as this ultrasound usually consists of a periodic oscillation whereas a shockwave is a single pulse.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) where the word extracorporeal refers to a procedure performed outside the body and Radial shockwave therapy are a modern treatment tool where high-energy sound waves are introduced into the painful areas of the body and was first used in 1980, when used to disintegrate kidney stones in a patient.

Therapeutic Effects Of Shockwave Treatment

During Shockwave therapy a high-intensity sound wave interacts with the tissues of your body, leading to a cascade of beneficial effects including:

• neovascularisation ingrowth,
• reversal of chronic inflammation,
• stimulation of collagen and tissue regeneration,
• and dissolution of calcium build-up.

Shockwave therapy creates an optimal healing environment by causing stimulation of these listed biological effects, basically shockwave treatment can help trigger your biology to start to heal the affected tissue.

Indications For The Application Of Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave treatment is frequently used in physiotherapy, podiatry, orthopaedics and sports medicine. In physiotherapy is it often used to treat variety of chronic tendinopathies including the Achilles tendon, rotator cuff tendons, patella tendons and “tennis elbow” as well as heel pain including planta fascia disorders among others.

Shockwave therapy can be indicated in situations where:

• pain has been present for 3-6 months or longer

where previous conservative treatment such as targeted exercsies, biomechanical and ergonomic changes and other manual or electrotherapy treatment has failed.