Shockwave
Shockwave Therapy in Worthing
Shockwave therapy or ESWT (Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy) is an effective treatment for a few different conditions. It has proven to be very useful in conditions like plantar fasciitis, tendinopathies (Achilles Tendinopathy, Tennis elbow, etc) and stiff and reduced movement in the shoulder, although, not frozen shoulder.
With all these conditions the pathophysiology of them is similar. That is, they don’t have much naturally occurring inflammation. That’s why they had to change it from tendinitis to tendinopathy. One means inflammation of the tendon and the other means disease of the tendon. As there is no inflammation, they had to change it from itis to pathies.
The treatment sends low frequency shockwaves or energy pulses to specified areas of the body, to begin the healing and repairing process of the painful or injured area.
NICE guidelines state that 3 treatments are all that’s required, which is fine for most conditions, although in the real world, it’s normally 4 or 5 treatments for those more chronic or severe conditions. This is significantly quicker than the conventional treatments of stretches and pain killers.
Shockwave has been shown to increase blood circulation and activity in the cells in the treatment area, which in turn speeds up the body’s own healing process. It does this by producing an inflammatory response.
The nerves can also be overstimulated by the shockwaves, which leads to a reduced pain sensation. This happens because transmission of pain is blocked by the elimination of somethings called substance P. All of this helps with the immediate pain. The body responds by increasing metabolic activity around the site of pain. This stimulates a healing process. Shockwaves break down scar tissue and possibly calcification in tendons as well.
Shockwave therapy can only go so far
It’s great at dealing with the symptoms of pain. However, it doesn’t address the underlying causative reasons for the problem in the first place. For this we need to make sure that the biomechanics of the area are working as efficiently as possible. For example, with plantar fasciitis, we would need to make sure the feet, ankles, knees, hips, pelvis, and lower back are all working as well as they can and correct any biomechanical issues which might be contributing to the problem in the first place.
Shockwave therapy has been proven to:
stimulate the body’s natural healing process,
show an immediate reduction of pain
improves ease of movement
reduces the chance of further surgery
As with all things there are a few different companies out there that sell shockwave machines. After much research and looking into the area for some time with have gone with an EMS DolorClast machine. Looking at the evidence, it is possible to see that the EMS DolorClast machine causes more cavitation within the tissues that you are trying to affect. This is a good thing!
I’m pleased to announce that our practice has recently been certified by EMS through the Swiss DolorClast Academy.
Our team has completed clinical training in Guided DolorClast Therapy, which allows us to provide clinically proven, non-invasive treatment for a range of musculoskeletal pains.
We have the clinical knowledge to provide you with the highest quality treatment that is specifically tailored to your situation and condition.