What is shockwave treatment and how does it work. Why we choose to use it here at the clinic as a treatment method

Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment in which a device is used to pass acoustic shockwaves through the skin to the affected area. This will encourage neovascularisation (the formation of new blood vessels) and tissue regeneration, which are important during healing and recovery.

Shockwave Therapy can provide relief and advanced recovery in situations where the healing process has stalled or failed to respond to standard therapeutic intervention. Anyone who has suffered an injury knows that chronic pain can affect your quality of life, performance at work, enjoyment of regular exercise and ability to take part in sports.

Shockwave is able to provide relief and healing even in chronic cases where the body has previously demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to do so by itself. The use of Shockwave Therapy has been found to safely and successfully treat a range of musculoskeletal conditions. Its use is supported by a wealth of clinical experience and scientific evidence. Research has shown, a combination of Shockwave and Physiotherapy gets the best results as opposed to each in isolation.

At The Physio Clinic we most commonly use Shockwave Therapy to treat chronic tendinopathies and plantar fasciitis that have not responded to physiotherapy alone. It is a useful adjunct to the treatment of long standing tendon conditions as these are classically a hard tissue to rehab and a common cause of persistent pain.

Tendinopathies occur when a tissue remains in a persistent state of disrepair. This happens when there is a decrease in the efficiency of the body’s ability to heal, or when the demand on the tissue is too high with not enough time for recovery. The longer this state of disrepair continues the lower the tolerance of the tissue to withstand the stresses put upon it and the more likely it is to remain in a state of disrepair. In order to get the body to re-stimulate the healing process we need to introduce a new stress on the tissue.

This is done with the use of the Shockwave machine. Shockwave Therapy is designed to put the tissue in a fresh state of healing, when this is used appropriately alongside a personalised rehab program it gives the tissue the best chance at regenerating and returning to a functional state.