What is Shock Wave Therapy?
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) is a non-invasive medical treatment that uses high-energy acoustic waves to stimulate healing in injured or painful tissues. “Extracorporeal” means the waves are generated outside the body and directed to a targeted area. These high-energy acoustic waves are an advanced treatment that can be used to remove soft tissue calcifications, enhance collagen synthesis, release growth factors, increase blood flow, and stimulate your body’s healing process to reduce pain. ESWT accelerates the healing of stubborn musculoskeletal conditions in bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles so that patients can avoid invasive treatments such as steroid injections or surgery.
What conditions are commonly treated?
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Plantar fasciitis
- Bursitis or tendinopathy in the hip
- Stress fractures
- Non-union fractures (a bone fracture that hasn’t fully healed)
- Frozen shoulder
- Osteoarthritis in the knees, hips, or shoulders
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Strained calves and hamstrings
- Tendonitis in the foot and ankle, hip, or shoulder
- Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow)
- Medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow)
- Rotator cuff tendinopathy
- Biceps tendinopathy
- Gluteal tendinopathy (greater trochanteric pain)
- Hamstring tendinopathy
- Shoulder tendinopathy
- Patellar tendinopathy
Are there any side effects?
Generally, side effects are minimal. The most common discomfort patients may experience is during the treatment itself. Occasionally, patients may notice temporary redness, bruising, or soreness for 1-2 days after treatment.
The standard protocol following treatment involves no athletic activity for 48 hours. It is also advised to avoid the use of ice, heat, or anti-inflammatory medications for 48 hours.
How many treatments are needed?
Most patients see long-term results after only three treatments, which take about thirty minutes each. The general treatment plan for most conditions requires eight treatment sessions over four weeks with the patient being treated twice a week.
What is the cost of treatment?
Unfortunately, medical insurance does not cover the cost of shock wave therapy. This technology is too advanced for insurance companies to comprehend and value for patient benefit as an alternative to costly surgery or injections. We offer an initial treatment session for $45 to determine your response to treatment. If your condition is deemed responsive to treatment, we offer competitive pricing for an 8-session treatment plan to address your injury and create lasting improvement for you. If you prefer to receive your treatment on an as-needed basis beyond the initial treatment session, we also offer pricing for individual sessions to keep the cost of your treatment reasonable and accessible.
What Shock Wave Therapy unit are you using?
We firmly believe that our patients deserve nothing but the most cutting-edge technology when it comes to the tools that we offer in our clinic. For that reason, after extensive research, we chose to offer services using the ESWT unit created by Pulse Wave™. Pulse Wave™ is the only FDA registered shock wave device available and utilizes a truly unique method based on a patent-pending and proprietary electromagnetic parabolic form of focused shock wave production. Utilizing a stepped parabolic method that generates multiple wave forms within an instantaneous acoustic event, this generates both a true focused shock wave and simultaneous electromagnetic pulse wave. These two wave forms are generated simultaneously and concentrated to the focal zone within the tissue. This unique form of wave production provides two therapeutic wave forms to the treatment site. It is the only device available that currently has patent-pending technology to create this effect. This makes the Pulse Wave ™ unit unique amongst all other focused and non-focused shock wave devices. The Pulse Wave™ is also the first electromagnetic focused shock wave device designed and manufactured in the United States.
Are you ready to take the next step towards being pain-free?
If you have a question for us or need to set up an appointment, please contact the clinic by phone or start a conversation with us and let’s find out how we can help you today!
If you already have an appointment scheduled for your initial treatment sessions, please complete the Shock Wave (ESWT) Patient Registration Packet prior to your appointment. Thank you!