Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy – ESWT

ESWT works by targeting shock waves directly to the area triggering pain.

Physician-directed Shockwave Therapy

High Desert Sports and Spine now offers Focused Shockwave and Radial Shockwave therapy

ESWT (Extracorporal Shockwave Therapy, AKA “Focused Shockwave”) and EPAT (Extracorporal Pulse Activation Technology, AKA “Radial Shockwave”) are both evidence-based Shockwave therapies that get to the root of your pain non-invasively – facilitating healing and accelerating your recovery. Shockwave improves your body’s regenerative potential, rather than further damaging an area that has degenerated because of poor blood flow, tissue injury, overuse or weakness. In as few as 3 to 5 weekly 7 to 10-minute sessions in your medical professional’s office, you’ll be on a faster, easier path to feeling better — and back to the activities you love. No downtime. No surgery, scarring or anesthesia. Noninvasive and virtually risk-free. Shockwave therapy has extremely high patient satisfaction — more than 80% in published studies.

Our providers at HDSS will direct shockwave therapy to injured tissues as determined by examination, advanced imaging and musculoskeletal ultrasound in some cases. Shockwave therapy can also be used used in conjunction with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment protocols with synergistic effect.

What Conditions Does it Treat?

Shockwave is used to for many orthopedic conditions, including plantar fasciitis, patellar tendonitis (jumper’s knee), lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow), medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow), rotator cuff tendinitis, bone edema associated with knee arthritis, stress and non-union fractures, acute muscle strains/tears and more. It can be used for mechanical lower back and neck pain as well as myofacial pain (AKA “trigger points”). It may be used alone or as an adjunct (combined with biologic therapies such as PRP).

The benefits of EPAT/ESWT shockwave treatments

Non-invasive
No anesthesia required
No risk of infection
No scarring
No downtime
Over 80% patient satisfaction
Cost effective
Faster, easier healing

How Does ESWT Treatment Reduce Pain?

The mechanism of action is based on shockwaves interrupting pain pathways of the inflamed nerves at cellular levels. This leads to restoration of healthy nerve function and promotes new blood vessel growth to facilitate natural healing.

How Many Treatments Are Recommended And At What Intervals?

Typically, a total of 5 treatment sessions are recommended once per week. If a PRP is performed as part of the treatment plan, ESWT is ideally performed the day of the procedure and resumed 2 weeks after PRP. Some patients report immediate pain relief, but natural healing of injured tissue occurs approximately 8 weeks following treatment. Between treatments, patients are able to resume regular activities as tolerated.

Are There Side Effects to ESWT Treatment?

One of the main benefits of ESWT is the low risk. The treatment “extracorporeal,” meaning that patients receive the therapy “outside the body” instead of invasive surgery. Depending on the diagnosis patients may experience mild temporary discomfort during treatment as ESWT seeks out painful regions to desensitize them. The shockwaves are directed at the point of maximum symptoms to optimize healing.

Rarely ESWT may cause skin redness, bruising, numbness, tingling or radiating pain. If these symptoms do occur, they are short lived and self resolving. Contraindications to shockwave therapy include bleeding disorders and pregnancy.

Resources & Studies