Shockwave Therapy
In the News
What is Shockwave?
Shockwave is a noninvasive regenerative therapy that is based on a unique set of pressure
waves that stimulate the metabolism, enhance blood circulation, and accelerate the body’s natural healing process. Much like stem cell therapy in many instances damaged tissues (like partially torn tendons) gradually regenerate and eventually heal.
Shockwave is an excellent alternative to surgery and expensive stem cell injections. The procedure includes 3-5 in-office sessions approximately 15-30 minutes each at weekly intervals. Healing continues for up to 3 months after the final treatment is delivered.
How soon will it work?
What conditions have been treated successfully with shockwave therapy at Robert Pauline Physical Therapy?
- Chronic tendinopathy (tennis elbow, golfers elbow, achilles tendonitis)
- Partial rotator cuff tears or shoulder pain
- Frozen shoulder
- Plantar fasciitis
- Heel pain
- Certain meniscus tears
- Wrist pain
- Trigger points in neck and shoulders
- Chronic muscle tension
- Hand and wrist arthritis
- Chronic hip pain
- Delayed healing fractures
- Knee arthritis
- Chronic tendinopathy (tennis elbow, golfers elbow, achilles tendonitis)
- Partial rotator cuff tears or shoulder pain
- Frozen shoulder
- Plantar fasciitis
- Heel pain
- Certain meniscus tears
- Wrist pain
- Trigger points in neck and shoulders
- Chronic muscle tension
- Hand and wrist arthritis
- Chronic hip pain
- Delayed healing fractures
- Knee arthritis
Does my insurance cover shockwave therapy?
Regenerative medicine is not yet covered by health insurance in the United States. Much like PRP and Stem Cell therapies people who want the benefits of regenerative medicine are usually paying out of pocket. We do accept HSA and Flex Savings accounts. 4 shockwave therapy sessions are about the same price as a single PRP injection and far less expensive than stem cell therapy.
Who is leading the Shockwave research?
Additional Resources
Stanford Medical Center:
Dr. Anne Elizabeth Goldring, a specialist in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, incorporates shockwave therapy into her practice for treating musculoskeletal pain. Dr. Raymond Chou, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, specializes in non- operative management of upper extremity injuries. His expertise includes electromyography (EMG) and extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT).
Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)
Mayo Clinic employs both radial and focused ESWT to treat musculoskeletal and neurological conditions, such as tendon injuries, bone fractures, and spasticity resulting from stroke or multiple sclerosis. Their Sports Medicine Center in Minneapolis is also implementing radial shockwave therapy for various musculoskeletal disorders.
Mass General Brigham (Boston, MA)
Affiliated with Harvard Medical School, Mass General Brigham offers ESWT through its Regenerative Medicine Program. They utilize both radial and focused shockwave therapies to address conditions like plantar fasciitis, tendinopathies, and bone injuries, particularly in patients unresponsive to conventional treatments.
Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO)
Washington University Orthopedics provides ESWT for a range of conditions, including plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, tennis elbow, and non-healing fractures. Their approach emphasizes non-invasive treatment to promote healing and alleviate pain in soft tissues.
Boston Children’s Hospital (Boston, MA)
The Sports Medicine Division at Boston Children’s Hospital utilizes ESWT to treat pediatric sports injuries, such as achilles tendinopathy, jumper’s knee, and rotator cuff injuries. They apply both focused and radial shockwave therapies to stimulate healing in young athletes.
Many professional athletes and teams across various sports have incorporated shockwave therapy into their treatment protocols to address musculoskeletal injuries. This includes teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and European football clubs. The therapy is used to accelerate recovery from injuries such as tendinopathies. muscle strains and ligament injuries.
Benefits of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Mechanisms in Musculoskeletal Regenerative Medicine: This article reviews the mechanisms by which ESWT acts as a regenerative medicine technique for treating numerous musculoskeletal injuries.
Benefits of shockwave therapy. Systematic Review and Meta Anaylsis (one of the most powerful type of medical research).
Benefits of EMTT:
Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy as a New Form of Electromagnetic Wave Therapy: From Gene Upregulation to Accelerated Matrix Mineralization in Bone Healing
Benefits of combining Shockwave with EMTT for shoulder pain.
Comparing EMTT with PT or PT alone for low back pain. Randomized controlled trial.