Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the body’s natural healing process. It can relieve pain and promote healing of injured tendons, ligaments, and bone. It accomplishes this by releasing growth factors in the injured tissue. 

Shockwave therapy is a type of regenerative medicine. It is used to treat tendinopathy as well as difficult-to-heal ligament injuries. Some degenerative tendinopathies have an associated buildup of calcium in the tendon. Shock waves can break those deposits up.

The treatment can also promote healing after orthopedic surgery — for instance, if a hip impingement has damaged tendons and ligaments around the hip. Surgery may correct the hip impingement, but after years of overworking and degeneration because of the impingement, the surrounding tendons often remain painful. Shockwave therapy can be used to address this secondary issue.

Shockwave therapy is used to reduce pain and promote healing from tendinopathy and many other sports injuries. Some examples include:

Foot pain: plantar fasciitis and Achilles’ tendinopathy

Knee pain: patella tendinopathy (jumper’s knee)

Leg pain: hamstring injuries

Hip pain: hip flexor, groin and lateral hip pain with gluteal tendinopathies

Elbow pain: Little League elbow and tennis elbow

Shoulder pain: rotator cuff injuries

How does shockwave therapy work?

Shockwave therapy is administered by Dr. Hayes and her Staff. As your Sports Medicine doctor we have a detailed understanding of your health history, and a deep knowledge in the anatomy of joints, tendons, and ligaments and common patterns of sports injury.

During treatment, the doctor holds a shockwave device next to the skin. The device sends shockwaves into the injured tissues, stimulating increased blood flow and growth hormones to the area, promoting new tissue growth.

Focused shockwave therapy sends waves into a small area.

Radial shockwave therapy delivers shockwaves over a broader area, for instance, along the length of an injured tendon.

Most patients report some discomfort during shockwave therapy. The amount of discomfort depends in part on the person, their injury, and whether the damaged tissues are close to a bone. (Treatments delivered closer to a bone are generally more uncomfortable.) The doctor will rub a topical gel on the skin to reduce the discomfort. As soon as the treatment is over, the discomfort typically stops.

How long does shockwave therapy take?

A single treatment usually takes between 4 to 7 minutes. Depending on the injury, a patient will usually receive three to five treatments over a period of several weeks.

How effective is shockwave therapy?

Sports medicine specialists at Boston Children’s and other centers have observed significant healing in many of their patients who receive the treatment. Studies are currently underway to better understand the effectiveness of shockwave therapy.

It is important for patients to know that the results of shockwave therapy may not be apparent immediately but should increase over time as their injured tissues heal.

Shockwave therapy is often used in combination with other therapies such as chiropractic, medical laser and platelet rich plasma injections. In the case of sports-related injuries, an injury-prevention specialist, such as Dr. Hayes may work with the athlete to analyze their movement patterns and help them build strength and adjust their technique, so they are less prone to re-injury.

Athletes can typically return to activity within 24 hours of a treatment.

Complications of shockwave therapy are quite rare. 

Shockwave therapy is part of the extensive sports medicine and injury prevention services available here at Fit 4 Life Sports