Radial Shockwave Therapy is a treatment that involves the application of high energy percussions (physical shocks) to the damaged tissue. This results in an inflammatory response by the body that stimulates the healing process by way of increased metabolic activity in the injured tissue.
Shockwave works well at treating chronic soft tissue conditions (lasting more than 3 months) such as:
- Tennis elbow and Golfer’s elbow
- Rotator Cuff tendonitis/tendonosis and calcific tendonitis
- Patellar tendonitis/tendonosis (commonly known as Jumper’s knee)
- Achilles tendonitis/tendonosis
- Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Spurs
It is recommended that 3-5 treatments be taken at weekly intervals. After this, the body will require 3-4 weeks to go through the healing phase. Treatments last approximately 5 minutes, and can be a little uncomfortable, but most people are able to tolerate it quite well. The area treated may have a throbbing discomfort for up to 48 hours after treatment which is expected due to the inflammatory response created. For this reason, it is not recommended that you take anti-inflammatory medication or use ice. If the area treated is feeling well, it is still recommended to decrease your activity for 48 hours.
The long term affects of Shockwave Therapy may take up to 3-4 months, but the results are usually very positive according to the research.
Conditions that Contra-indicate the use of Shockwave:
- Recent cortisone injection within 6 weeks
- Cancer, Diabetes or pregnancy
- Children (because of growth plates)
- Blood thinning medication (ie. Heparin or Coumadin)
- Blood coagulating disorders such as Hemophilia
- Large nerves or vessels close to the area being treated
