What is Shockwave Therapy?
Shockwave therapy (or Radial Pressure Wave therapy) is an effective, evidence-based treatment used to treat chronic and complex musculoskeletal conditions. It is a great way to treat tendon injuries, heel pain, and other pain related to inflammation or degeneration.
Southwest Foot and Ankle Centre is fully equipped with the latest Shockwave Therapy technology and provides shockwave therapy services in our Bunbury and Vasse Podiatry clinics.
To explore this non-invasive therapy that facilitates fast pain relief, mobility restoration and accelerates recovery, book an appointment today.
How Does Shockwave Therapy Work?
The therapy is delivered by applying radial pressure waves to the entire pain region, stimulating natural movement patterns and facilitating healing.
By introducing acoustic or radial pressure waves into the body, it induces numerous effects including:
Immediate and Long-Term Pain Relief
Pain reduction is achieved by depletion of “Substance P” from C-fibre nerves. Substance P is the body’s pain-inducing chemical, which is often chronically elevated in persistent foot and ankle injuries or conditions.
Regeneration of Targeted Tissue
Tissue regeneration is facilitated by stimulating the body’s natural ability to increase blood circulation, growth factors, metabolism and production of stem cells. All of which are essential for healing, but often inhibited in chronic injuries.
Breakdown of Chronically Injured Areas
Radial pressure waves also have the ability to mechanically break down calcification and scar tissue.
Types of Conditions To Use Shockwave Therapy On
Shockwave therapy is most commonly used for the conditions:
- Chronic plantar fasciitis
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Other chronic or calcific lower limb tendinopathies (e.g. Patellar tendinopathy)
- Facilitation of stress fractures or non-healing fractures (e.g. delayed or non-unions)
- Shin splints (e.g. Medial tibial stress syndrome)
How Effective Is Shockwave Therapy?
The number of sessions for each patient varies depending on several factors (e.g. condition, symptoms, chronicity), however, the majority of conditions will have around 3-5 sessions at weekly or fortnightly intervals.
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy can also be used to delay or avoid surgery.
Is Shockwave Therapy Safe?
Shockwave therapy is a safe, non-invasive and non-surgical treatment modality. It originated in the 1960s for the non-invasive treatment of kidney stones and gallstones – since that time, it has been used successfully and safely for over 30 years for a variety of musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions.
Being a non-invasive procedure, there are almost no side effects cited in the abundance of literature. Please contact Southwest Foot and Ankle Centre if you are a patient seeking this services with poor sensation (neuropathy), with target area hypersensitivity, with open sores, with heart conditions or who is pregnant.
Is Shockwave Therapy Painful?
Many patients may experience mild pain or discomfort during treatment, which usually subsides immediately after treatment. Caution is only required over malignant tumours or in the presence of active infections.
Each treatment session typically lasts between 5-15 minutes and can be used in combination with other podiatric interventions or as a stand-alone treatment.
Patients are usually allowed to bear weight following the procedure; however, they are advised to reduce their activity level for 1 or 2 weeks.
Shockwave Therapy Cost
Southwest Foot and Ankle Centre can advise you of the cost of shockwave therapy. We are a podiatry clinic based in Bunbury and Australind that services all of the southwest region and WA.
Want to know more about shockwave therapy? Read our article Shockwave Therapy: A Solution For Chronic Heel Pain?
Contact Southwest Foot and Ankle Centre today on (08) 9791 1319 or by booking an appointment online!
To chat with our experienced team about how shockwave therapy can help you, book today.
