Shockwave: is it right for you?

Addy Barrett Featured, Foot & Ankle Conditions

Shockwave therapy or extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a treatment modality commonly used by multiple health disciplines including podiatry, orthopaedics and urology. ESWT provides a number of short and long-term benefits including fast pain relief while restoring mobility and function without the need for painkillers or anti-inflammatory medications. 

Shockwave therapy is a fast and effective walk in walk out podiatry treatment that is a clinically proven, non-invasive (no need for injections) and non-surgical way to provide you with lasting pain relief. This means it can drastically reduce your time taken to return to sport, daily activities and improve your quality of life.

One of the other benefits of this treatment is there are very minimal if any, side effects. This makes it an ideal therapy to help speed up your recovery from chronic or new injuries, which may include:

Shockwave Therapy does not involve electrical shocks, instead, physical high-frequency sound waves delivered to directly to the tissue involved. This occurs as a projectile is fired back and forth in the applicator by compressed air, striking the transmitter at the end, sending the energy through ultrasound gel and directly into the affected area. 

The treatment is proven to promote the body’s own regeneration and repairing process while assisting in the breakdown of scar tissue. During this process it also provides muscle trigger point release and allows new blood vessel formation, supplying more nutrient and oxygen-rich blood to kick start and support faster healing. It often has an immediate pain-relief benefit as it inhibits the neurological mechanism that causes the increased activity of our pain receptors. 

A typical treatment alone takes about 4 minutes to complete with no need to take time off work or other commitments after the treatment is done. During the treatment, it is common to experience slight discomfort and an unusual feeling. However, most patients are easily able to tolerate it, especially due to the short duration of treatment. 

We recommend that in the 48 hours after the treatment you refrain from any physical activity that is likely to aggravate the injured area. In order to ensure we get the best result, we generally book 4 sessions in advance at 2-5 day intervals. Typically, after these sessions, the results are really positive and pain has been significantly reduced.

If you think shockwave therapy may work for you contact us via the Live Chat or call us on (03) 9993 0461 and let us help you get back on your feet faster!