6 Conditions that can be Treated by Shockwave Therapy!
Do you have an annoying, repetitive injury that you just can’t seem to get rid of?
Is your life constantly affected by things such as tennis elbow, jumper’s knee, or plantar fasciitis?
If this sounds like you, shockwave therapy may be right for you!
What is Shockwave Therapy?
Shockwave therapy is used by physiotherapists and chiropractors to help treat those nagging, chronic injuries, and help you get back on track to a full recovery.
Shockwave therapy originated in the 1980s, and was originally used to help get rid of kidney stones. Now, it is used all around the world to help people with chronic injuries that are hard to get rid of.
Shockwave therapy sends high energy sound waves into an injured part of the body. These sound waves help stimulate your body’s healing response. This can help jumpstart your recovery, and help you get back to what you love to do, faster!
How does Shockwave work?
After a thorough assessment, your physiotherapist or chiropractor can confirm if you can benefit from shockwave therapy. Your physiotherapist or chiropractor will then apply a bit of gel onto the skin to ensure good contact and allow the shockwave to enter the body tissues properly.
Inside the hand-held applicator of the machine, there is a small metal ball that is free to bounce around inside the head. Once the machine is on, compressed air causes the ball to bounce inside. The ball hits the end of the machine with such a force that causes a “shockwave”, which then travels through the gel on your skin, and into the body.
Your physiotherapist or chiropractor will adjust the settings to ensure that the sound waves will reach the desired area and that the right amount of energy is being delivered to optimize your healing.
What are the benefits of Shockwave Therapy?
Shockwave therapy is a very useful tool to have in your rehab journey. An amazing benefit of shockwave therapy is that it’s non-invasive – nothing pierces your skin. It can be a useful tool to help reduce pain, stimulate tissue repair, and help injuries heal without the need for invasive injections or surgery.
Once the sound waves are transmitted through the gel and into your body, it will cause your tissues and cells to vibrate back and forth. As the small blood vessels, collagen cells, and other tissues vibrate, it will cause very small, micro-tears in these tissues.
These micro-tears will then cause your body to initiate a healing process that will cause new blood vessels to be formed and more nutrients to be delivered to the area…and that’s how healing of your injury begins!
You’ll often get the most healing benefit when shockwave is paired with other physiotherapy or chiropractic treatments, such as hands-on therapy and exercise.
Top 6 Conditions that Shockwave can Treat
There are a number of injuries and conditions where shockwave has been proven to help…here are the top 6 for you below!
1. Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fasciitis is a very common issue for many people, where the plantar fascia – a thick band of connective tissue that runs the entire length of the foot – becomes inflamed.
You may have plantar fasciitis if you experience pain in the soles of your feet and at the bottom of your heels, especially if you get pain first thing in the morning, or after a long period of not moving.
This issue is often seen in people who do a lot of activities that put a lot of stress on their heels, such as dancers and runners, or in people who have jobs that require them to be on their feet a lot. If plantar fasciitis persists for many years, it can become extremely painful and limit your ability to do normal, everyday activities.
People with chronic plantar fasciitis often turn to injections or surgery to relieve their pain. However, shockwave can be a safe, non-invasive treatment and help people avoid the need for more invasive injections or surgery.
2. Tennis Elbow & Golfer’s Elbow
Tennis elbow (also known as lateral epicondylitis), and Golfer’s elbow (also known as medial epicondylitis) are common injuries of the elbow.
Both of these injuries are overuse injuries of the forearm muscles that attach to the elbow, however, tennis elbow affects the muscles that attach to the outside of the elbow, and golfer’s elbow affects muscles that attach to the inside of the elbow.
These injuries are not exclusive to tennis players or golfers, as it can affect weightlifters, those playing other racquet sports, or those doing any activity that stresses the forearm muscles. Without proper rehab, this injury can become chronic, and can cause a lot of pain with simple tasks such as lifting objects to do housework, opening doors, or squeezing things.
Your physiotherapist or chiropractor can use shockwave therapy along the forearm muscle, close to where the muscles attach to the elbow, in order to help stimulate the healing process.
They will also prescribe specific exercises to help strengthen the area as it heals.
3. Achilles Tendinopathy
Achilles Tendinopathy is an overuse injury, and irritation to the Achilles tendon at someone’s ankle. This injury is often found in people who run very often and stress their calf muscles a lot.
This can cause pain in the heel and calf muscle, making running difficult and painful. If this persists, over time, chronic Achilles Tendinopathy can make it very painful to even walk around during the day.
Also, if left untreated, your calf muscles and Achilles tendon can become weakened, putting you at an increased risk for Achilles tendon tears.
Your physiotherapist or chiropractor can use shockwave therapy to help kick start the healing process while providing specific, therapeutic exercises to strengthen the calves, to help get rid of this nagging injury!
4. Jumper’s Knee (Patellar Tendinopathy)
Jumper’s knee, also known as Patellar Tendinopathy, is an overuse, tendon irritation to the patellar tendon. This injury leads to pain and discomfort just below the knee cap, especially when doing jumping activities.
This is often seen in people who do sports such as volleyball and basketball, but can also affect people who run often. Over time, this can make it difficult to do activities such as going down stairs and walking and lead to weakness in the quadriceps muscles.
Shockwave on the patellar tendon can help reduce your pain, and stimulate the healing process. Your physiotherapist or chiropractor will also help you strengthen the tendon and muscles around it with therapeutic exercises, to help maximize your healing!
5. Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy
Rotator cuff tendinopathy is an irritation or inflammation of your rotator cuff muscles. Your rotator cuff is a set of 4 muscles around the shoulder blade that act to stabilize the shoulder in its socket.
This injury is very common among weightlifters, swimmers, and racquet sports players, but can affect anyone who does motions that involve lifting the arms overhead. It most commonly affects people over the age of 40, and often develops from the wear and tear we put on our rotator cuff with everyday activities.
People with this issue experience pain with shoulder movements, lifting objects, and when reaching or lifting things overhead. If this becomes a chronic issue, this injury can greatly affect someone’s ability to do everyday tasks, as even just moving the arm around can be extremely painful.
People often turn to surgery to help repair the shoulder muscles and reduce pain. However, shockwave can be a safe, non-invasive treatment to prevent surgery, and can help the shoulder heal while therapeutic exercise is used to increase the strength of the rotator cuff muscles.
6. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a common cause of hip or knee pain, especially as people get older. People with osteoarthritis usually have symptoms such as stiffness in the morning, loss of full range of motion, or pain and swelling after activity.
Hip and knee pain due to osteoarthritis can make it very difficult for people to move around. Simple tasks such as stairs, running, or even walking and standing can be extremely tiring, difficult, and painful.
When untreated and unmanaged, many people turn to pain killing injections, or hip and knee replacement surgeries to help them get out of pain. In fact, in Canada in 2020, about 70% of all hip replacement surgeries and almost 100% of knee replacement surgeries were due to osteoarthritis.
Shockwave therapy has been shown that it can be a safe, non-invasive, useful tool to help people with osteoarthritis reduce pain, and help improve their function. When used alongside a proper physiotherapy care plan, it can help prevent surgery and keep people living their best, active life.
There are many other injuries that can benefit from receiving shockwave therapy. Make sure to talk to your physiotherapist or chiropractor if you think that shockwave therapy is right for you!
They will perform a detailed assessment of your injury and determine if you can benefit from shockwave therapy. They will also create a detailed treatment plan, get you back to your full health, and help you live your best life!
This blog was written by James Ma, a Physiotherapy student at the University of Toronto
FAQ
What does shockwave therapy feel like?
Shockwave therapy is loud – it sounds similar to a jackhammer. It can be slightly painful or uncomfortable depending on where your physiotherapist or chiropractor uses it on, and depending on the settings of the machine.
Are there any risks to shockwave therapy?
Shockwave therapy is safe and non-invasive. However, after a session, you may notice increased redness and swelling to the area. There may also be bruising, and it may be slightly painful. However, these side effects usually do not last very long, and will go away in a few days.
Are there any conditions that shockwave is not good for?
Because shockwave therapy delivers high amounts of energy, it should not be used over cancerous tumors, open wounds, or areas of infection. It should also not be used if you are pregnant, have a bleeding disorder, are taking blood thinners, or have osteoporosis. Make sure to let your physiotherapist or chiropractor know your detailed health history so they can fit your treatment plan to your needs.