SHOCKWAVE THERAPY HAS MANY BENEFITS FOR ORTHOPEDIC PAIN

Generating great excitement in the world of musculoskeletal medicine is the development of shockwave therapy, beneficial for many common conditions including heel pain, chronic tendonitis, and many others. This is an extremely effective therapy, which has no complications or side effects, and boasts an 80-90% success rate. It is a technique well established for decades.

Multiple studies have established the effectiveness of shockwave therapy (Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy or ESWT). Its effects include stimulating of new blood vessel formation, reversing chronic inflammation, stimulating collagen production, and more.

A shockwave is an acoustic wave that carries high energy to a painful area and provokes the body’s healing and repair processes, making it ideal for orthopedic medicine, sports med and others. Shockwave is performed comfortably without anesthesia. ESWT stimulates the initial phase of tissue healing and the results are lasting. Being both beneficial and safe makes it an effective, viable alternative to the risks and recovery time of surgery.

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is a great option for plantar fasciitis, the usual cause of heel pain. Shockwave therapy has proven to be very helpful for healing of Achilles tendonitis, even when bone spurs are present.

When treating people who are active, or at least want to get active, it is gratifying to be able to get them moving, atraumatically yet quickly. It is easy to be able to recommend a technique with such a well-proven success rate, knowing it is improving their regenerative potential. With extracorporeal shockwave therapy, we are now able to treat the root of the individual’s pain, not just the symptoms, helping them get better, faster, without downtime. Shockwave has been called “the next frontier” when it comes to non-invasive muscle and ligament repair, another example of the new frontier of regenerative medicine.

By Dr. Conway McLean, DABFAS, FAPWHc, FAMIFAS