In today’s world, the daily life of repetitive movements, prolonged weight bearing (bad) postures and lack of exercises eventually causes muscle and tendon strains. The lack of treatment over a long period of time leads to chronic inflammation and pain.
Shockwave Therapy is a new non-invasive treatment method for chronic painful condition in the musculoskeletal system. This technology sends very short energy waves traveling faster than the speed of sound into the injured area. These short energy waves, called Shockwaves, are acoustic waves with an extremely high energy peak like ones which occur in the atmosphere after an explosive event such as a lightning strike or a sonic boom. The original use of Shockwaves were in hospitals over 30 years ago to breakdown kidney stones without the need for surgery. Since then, the use of Shockwaves have greatly expanded. With technological advancement, the new machines are smaller, portable and affordable, and uses a lower energy Shockwaves to accelerate the recovery of chronic pain.
How Shockwave Therapy works is that the machine sends energy waves into the injured area to create micro-trauma. It is like throwing very tiny pebbles into painful region. In chronic conditions, the brain would stop healing because it would forget about the injury. Under Shockwave treatment, the micro-trauma created by the energy waves reactivates the brain to promotes tissue regeneration and repair, which leads to new circulation for healing.
What conditions can you treat with Shockwave? Shockwave Therapy can be used to treat a wide variety of musculoskeletal conditions–particularly those involving where major connective tissues attach to bone such as: Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles Tendonitis, Tennis Elbow, Jumpers Knee, Hamstrings, Stress Fractures, Calcific Rotator Cuff Tendinitis, Bursitis and Trigger Point Therapy.
Clinical studies have shown the success rate of Shockware Therapy is 75% – 95%. Studies have shown that 88% of patients treated for calcaneal spurs and 95% of those treated for tennis elbow rated the results as “very good” or “good” only weeks after treatment. Since this is still a new technology over the next few years additional research studies will continue to be released further validating Shockwave as one of the most effective treatment techniques available.
To determine if Shockwave Therapy is the answer to your injury, our office will evaluate your condition during an assessment and recommend the correct form of therapy for your condition. For more information, please contact Dr. Kenny Chan at 604-739-2118.