What is Shockwave Therapy?
Shockwave is an acoustic wave of pressure that travels through the skin’s surface to promote tissue repair and manage pain at the sites of injury. It does this by delivering pulses to the tissue creating microtrauma at the site which results in an altered biological response – it’s this change in blood flow that accelerates tissue repair.
The effect is that tissue begins to repair, pain is reduced and mobility increases so that patients can keep being active and doing the things you love.
Let’s dive in a little more to find out what it’s all about and the kinds of conditions it can be used to treat.
Shockwave Therapy Machine: The Technology
You may already be familiar with this technology but not know it. Shockwave Therapy is a technology that has traditionally been used to treat kidney stones. It does this by sending high pressure acoustic frequencies (or waves) of pressure into specific areas of the body’s tissue.
In the treatment of kidney stones, the waves of pressure administered have the effect of breaking up the kidney stones. From this use, Shock Wave was successfully used to stimulate healing in bone fractures. In Podiatry, smaller machines with the same technology are used, whereby the waves focus on and treat soft tissue areas of the feet, to increase blood flow and stimulate tissue repair.
How does Shockwave Therapy work?
Shockwave Therapy is administered using a machine, on the end of which is a device which looks similar in shape to a gun. This ‘gun’ or ‘applicator; is held on the body at the site of pain. Compressed air is forced through a piston into the transmitter at the end of this applicator creating fast pressure vibrations which are then passed on, deep into the tissue.
It is through these acoustic waves of fast pressure vibrations that the body’s natural healing process is stimulated – increased blood flow, accelerated tissue repair, cell growth and reduction in pain levels, leading to improved mobility.
In patients with chronic injuries, the Therapy works by interrupting the cycle that the body is in. The high pressure waves create a small amount of inflammation and tissue damage in the area, which causes the body to respond by repairing the area and stopping the chronic cycle of degeneration.
Types of Shockwave Therapy
There are two types of Shockwave Therapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), and focused shockwave therapy (FSWT).
The benefit for patients is that we can treat more conditions by changing the depth of the shockwave. We use the focused shockwave therapy to penetrate deeper into the body to treat tissue that is otherwise very hard to get to.
Conditions that Shockwave Therapy can treat
The most common conditions for which we use Shock Wave Therapy in our clinics are for plantar heel pain and plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathies, osteoarthritis, pain in the ball of the foot, and anyone with general tightness in calf muscles or muscles in the legs.
1 out of 10 people suffer from heel pain and the therapy is mainly used in our clinic to treat this type of soft tissue problem. We also use it for patients with conditions such as osteoarthritis where their bones have stiffened up, as it helps to create more movement through the joints again.
Shock Wave Therapy is very versatile. Anyone with foot pain is a candidate for the treatment. There are some contraindications which need to be checked with each patient individually beforehand such as if someone is pregnant, has a blood clotting disorder or uses a pacemaker.
At Your Foot Clinic, we’re always looking at the next treatment options that will help our patients and Shock Wave Therapy is one in particular that is becoming more popular. Here are some of the common questions we hear from our patients when talking about the Therapy:
Is Shockwave Therapy painful?
Shockwave Therapy is non-invasive and works on the tissues of the feet and lower limb through the skin’s surface. Patients may feel a little discomfort as the waves of pressure are sent through the tissues to the sites of pain. The reason for this is because an area that is already causing pain in the body, is being worked on and treated. This actually helps us to know we’re working in the right area. We can customise the treatment based on a person’s individual pain threshold as this is different for everyone.
How many treatments of Shockwave Therapy will I need?
The treatment in our Clinic lasts for three to five minutes, over which time – and depending on the condition – around 3,000 shocks are administered to the site of pain. The regime is a minimum of three treatments over a number of weeks – for example three treatments in a three week period. There are no side effects so it can be used to treat people continuously. If a patient isn’t responding initially, we can choose to administer Shock Wave Therapy a few more times or if there’s no change or improvement then we would begin to discuss other treatments therapies.
Will I feel pain after the treatment?
The treatment creates more capillaries and therefore promotes more blood flow which leads to healing (regeneration) at the site of the tissue damage. Increasing blood flow means the results are cumulative where more blood flow over time brings additional nutrients and repairs the tissues. Patients will sometimes report initial discomfort in the area while being treated but express improvement with discomfort as the treatment continues. It is common for some soreness the day after treatment but improvements after that. We often see a progression in improvement after each treatment session.
What other options are there to treat my condition?
Massage, dry needling and ultrasound were and still are used to treat many soft tissue injuries. Shockwave is always used as part of a treatment program designed to improve outcomes for the patient. We often incorporate a strength and conditioning program, manage load appropriately with footwear changes, strapping and orthotics. For foot and ankle conditions, Shock Wave has become one of the more effective options in treating things like heel pain rather than some of the other treatment options.
How do I find out more about Shockwave Therapy?
At Your Foot Clinic, we’re always looking at the next treatment options that will help our patients. New studies continuously educate us on the latest best practice, and Shockwave Therapy is one in particular that is becoming more popular.
We want our patients to access the most suitable treatment regimes for them in order to improve their conditions as quickly as possible. Because of this, we do not charge extra for this treatment as part of the appointment. All of our Practitioners can administer Shock Wave Therapy; and for anyone who is unsure, we will bring the machine into the consultation to talk in detail about the Therapy. Shockwave Therapy is utilised at our Ferntree Gully Clinic.