What is Shockwave Therapy: A Full Breakdown

 During the healing process, because of how the therapy impacts the body, new blood vessels as well as new bone, muscle, tendon, ligament, and nerve tissue are encouraged to grow, leading to a faster and more complete healing process from injuries.

Shockwave therapy can reach areas of your body that are difficult to manipulate through massage therapy and encourages healing in difficult-to-heal areas, such as tendons and ligaments that have lower levels of blood flow and may have restrictions due to scar tissue or calcification. It's also a great option for old injuries that still hurt or ache at times, as the treatments can break up some of the scar tissues, muscular restrictions, and calcifications that prevent further healing while delivering additional blood flow and oxygen to the injury site. It can also allow you to avoid surgical interactions, reducing the impact of the treatment on your daily life. Rather than having to take significant time off of work for surgery and healing, you may be able to simply attend therapy sessions over your lunch hour or outside your workday schedule.

Shockwave therapy is a great option for tendon injuries, as tendons typically get a fraction of the blood flow that muscle tissue receives. For this reason, it's a great treatment option for sprains and strains that are not healing properly. Suppose you have chronic issues with tendons, such as tennis elbow, rotator cuff injuries, tendinopathies, and plantar fasciitis. In that case, it may be able to help you avoid invasive surgery that has a much longer healing time. If you've had surgery, such as a joint replacement, but are dealing with a movement impingement due to scar tissue, shockwave therapy can help your body heal those injuries by encouraging its natural healing process, improving your range of motion while reducing pain. It also works well for individuals suffering from post-surgical pain, myofascial pain, trigger points, and referred pain issues.

Similar to ultrasound treatment, shockwave therapy is relatively tame in terms of side effects. You may feel a deep, dull ache, similar to the healing process during the treatment process, but it doesn't usually remain after the treatment is concluded. Your physical therapist can adjust the settings if it becomes too uncomfortable for you. It's generally described as being a little uncomfortable, but not terribly painful, with higher levels of discomfort the closer the treatment is to a bone. You may have some slight bruising at the site as fresh blood moves into the area of the injury, and odd sensations can sometimes occur, as can slight swelling and numbness. Any side effects you notice beyond this are not normal and require consulting with your doctor before continuing the therapy.

Shockwave therapy is non-invasive and is a great option for many people. However, there are a few situations in which you should avoid shockwave therapy. These include:

• In situations where surgery is clearly needed
• Where soft tissue is torn beyond repair
• Treatments near the uterus during pregnancy
• Near the brain, spine, or lungs
• On or near a malignant tumor
• On patients with a bleeding disorder or significant osteoporosis

When used along with other physical therapy treatments, we have found that our patients experience improved healing times.  Shockwave is considered for many conditions, but if you have had a repeated injury to a specific tendon or tissue, or still have pain after healing, shockwave therapy may be a great option to consider. Though it doesn't always provide instantaneous results, the healing process will speed up the further you are into your treatment schedule, and many patients often note an immediate improvement in range of motion and pain level following the procedure. This allows you to take yourself to and from appointments, as there is no medication or anesthesia applied that can cause problems following the appointment. Frequency of use depends on the condition, but the physical therapist will evaluate the need for continued use on each treatment session. 

If you think you may be a candidate for shockwave therapy, it's important to work with your care team to determine your next course of action. Your physician can be in a better position to determine whether this type of therapy may be effective in your situation, and your physical therapist can help you gauge where it's needed most. If you're ready to get started on the road to recovery to get back into the game, we can help! Contact Back In the Game Physical Therapy today to schedule a consultation, make an appointment, or ask any questions you may have. Our friendly team is always happy to help you find the answers you need.