Shockwave Therapy in Chelsea Heights

Shockwave Therapy What is it?

Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment modality, which uses high-intensity sound waves to interact with the tissues in your body via a specialised handpiece. Originally used in urology for the treatment of kidney stones, it has since been shown to be an effective non-surgical option in musculoskeletal conditions including tendinopathies, bursitis, calcific changes and ligament injuries.

Shockwave therapy may be suggested as a first-line treatment for these conditions, usually in combination with other manual therapy, movement strategies and rehabilitative exercise.

Shockwave Therapy How does it work?

The proposed effects of shockwave therapy include:

  • Promotes neovascularization (new blood vessel growth)
  • Stimulate proliferation of tenocytes which help stimulate collagen production
  • Reversal of chronic inflammation
  • Amplifies growth factor to stimulate tissue repair
  • Reduction in trigger point intensity and pain relief

These can be explored in more detail via our Shockwave blog.

What does a Shockwave Therapy session look like?

What does a Shockwave Therapy session look like?

Our shockwave therapy machine consists of a pneumatically powered handpiece that generates radial shockwaves, which are transmitted to the site of the injury through a conducting gel. A treatment session generally consists of between 2000 and 3000 pulsed shockwaves being administered into the affected area, over a number of short sessions, usually taking no more than 15 minutes each.

Following a session, you may feel tender or sore for a day or two, and may experience some redness of the skin or minor swelling over the treatment area.

Can Shockwave Therapy help me?

Shockwave therapy works especially well when incorporated into a broader treatment plan. This may include continuing to see your osteopath and self-managing your condition with rehabilitation exercises to strengthen and reduce the risk of re-injury. Once a therapy session is completed, the body continues its natural healing process. Most of our patients report some discomfort throughout the first session and then go on to report some pain relief immediately after therapy.

For other patients, significant pain relief can take up to 4-5 sessions.
Shockwave therapy assists in the treatment of a number of chronic muscular and tendon disorders such as:

  • Chronic shoulder pain, bursitis & frozen shoulder
  • Tennis & Golfer’s elbow
  • Chronic hip pain and trochanteric bursitis
  • Achilles Tendinopathy
  • Plantar Fasciitis and heel spurs
  • Shin Splints (medial tibial stress syndrome)
  • Knee Pain
  • Proximal hamstring tendinopathy
Are there any risks involved?

Due to the nature of shockwave therapy, there are a number of contra-indications where it cannot be used. These include pregnancy, joint replacements, pacemakers and other implanted devices, and blood clotting conditions (DVT, PE and coagulation disorders).

As with all conservative first-line therapies, shockwave therapy does not have a 100% success rate. However, our practitioners are trained in assessing and referring as necessary if there are no changes following the sessions.

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