Bon Jovi might have sung about shocks to the heart but we think if he knew about extracorporeal shockwave therapy he might have sung about how shocks to the muscles and tendons could be the answer we’ve all been searching for with chronic musculoskeletal injuries.
Shockwave therapy is a treatment modality used to treat muscles, tendons (and more recent research suggests bone and other soft tissue lesions) to remove them out of the chronic stages of inflammation and bring them back into the acute stage where the body can reset and heal.
Shockwave utilises sound waves to create this therapeutic effect. A shockwave is a single acoustic pressure pulse, which causes a rapid rise to the peak pressure and then a rapid decline below ambient pressure… Enough of the physics…essentially the sound wave that is produced by the shockwave machine can pass the sound barrier and penetrate through to the tissue being treated causing a response within the cells.
The therapeutic effect at the tissue is caused by the formation of cavitation bubbles these microscopic bubbles start a cascade of events at a cellular level, which leads to an interruption and reversal in the chronic pain pathway. The cavitation bubbles start by increasing blood flow. Shockwave causes substance-P a peptide released by our bodies, to be inhibited. Substance-P is responsible for pain transmission along our nerves. This is why shockwave can have an instant therapeutic effect post treatment as it acts on the fibres of the nerves that are responsible for transmitting the pain signals to your brain.
The number of treatments is indicated by the condition being treated and the initial response to treatment, all of our practitioners have been trained to assess, diagnose and treat all conditions of the musculoskeletal system of the lower limb and foot using shockwave therapy.
Shockwave can be beneficial for the following conditions and can also be the missing link to helping you avoid a cortisone injection:
Plantar fasciitis, Achillies tendinopathy (insertional and midportion), Posterior tibialis tendinopathy (stage dependant), peroneal tendinopathy, Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, generalised shin pain, patella tendinopathy, Osgood Schlatter Disease, Calf tightness and trigger points along any muscles.
Book in for an assessment today to see if shockwave is the missing piece in your recovery!