Radial Shockwave therapy (RPW) is a non invasive treatment method with very few negative side effects, for indications that may be otherwise difficult to treat. RPW can help to reduce pain and improve function, and is effective for the treatment of:

Plantar Fasciitis
Heel Spurs
Patellar tendonosis (Jumper’s knee)
Achilles tendonosis
Tennis and Golfer’s elbow
IT Band Syndrome
Rotator cuff tendonitis including calcifying tendonitis of the shoulder
Chronic muscular trigger points

How does it work?

Radial Shockwave Therapy works by producing an acute inflammatory response at site of chronic injury. The body responds by increasing metabolic activity around the site of pain, therefore stimulating a healing process. Shockwave therapy also helps break down scar tissue and calcification.

How many treatments will I need?

Typically 3 treatments sessions are advised and necessary at weekly intervals. Sometimes an additional 3 treatments may be necessary if your condition is very chronic.

What is the success rate for this kind of treatment?

Tennis elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) – up to 91%
Calcifying tendonitis of the shoulder-up to 91%
Plantar Fasciitis- up to 88%
Patellar Tendonitis/tendonosis
(Jumper’s knee)- up to 87%
Achilles Tendonitis/tendonosis- up to 87%

What can I expect from a Shockwave Therapy treatment session?

An initial assessment must be conducted to determine if Shockwave Therapy is an appropriate treatment option for your condition. The treatment sessions are usually booked as 3 – 6 treatments, 1 time per week for 3 – 6 weeks. Afterwards, we wait an additional 3 weeks without treatment to allow for healing to take place.  A follow up visit is done after this period to ensure the pain is gone and the healing has taken place.

Additional Information

Radial Pressure Waves Therapeutic shockwaves were introduced as a medical treatment for eliminating kidney stones without causing skin injury, over 20 years ago. Some of the side effects discovered while using this treatment, were the bone healing and accelerated tissue healing results on the areas submitted to shockwave treatment. Today the use of radial shockwaves or Radial Pressures Waves (RPW) has been successfully extended to other therapeutic and wellness applications such as:

• Shoulder calcifications

• Insertional tendonitis

• Myofascial trigger points

• Muscle and connective tissue activation

Radial Pressure Waves is an excellent non invasive treatment method with very few negative side effects, for indications that are normally very difficult to treat. For these indications we now know that RPW is a treatment method that reduces pain as well as improves function and quality of life.

Physical effects of Radial Pressure Waves Radial pressure waves offer a non invasive treatment solution for long term insertion and soft tissue pathologies. Local treatment of the affected area will enhance and reset the healing pattern. Today there are several working hypotheses for the physical effects of radial pressure waves:

• Shockwaves create increased cell membrane permeability metabolically which allows old, damaged and weakened cells to be removed and replaced with healthy viable cells.

• And neurologically, Shockwaves produce a counter irritation at the dorsal root ganglion actually modulating the amount of nocioceptive activity and decreasing the pain signal and actually closing the theoretical pain gate.

• Vascular changes such as increased blood circulate in tissues which increases the oxygen content and significantly reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the tissue which may stimulate the healing process.

• Based on the hypothesis towards associative pain memory (Wess), afferent pain signals are transmitted through the central nervous system by multiple synaptic junctions which eventually cause efferent fibers to control muscle tone. The reflex mechanism works just like a regulatory circuit.