Shockwave therapy – Everything You Need to Know
Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive type of treatment administered to heal injured soft tissues. When certain soft tissues in the human body, especially plantar fascia or tendon get injured or don’t heal over time, it remains extremely uncomfortable for the patient.
The most common treatment at this stage is surgery. But going into surgery is not an option for everyone. And for them, shockwave therapy in High Wycombe can be recommended. It’s a much safer and more effective alternative to painful injections, steroids, or complicated surgeries.
How Does Shockwave Therapy Work?
When a patient has to undergo shockwave therapy, the enzymes that are responsible for relieving the pain are stimulated and thus released. This will further go on to speed up the metabolic reactions in the body resulting in a much better and more effective healing phase. Even cases of severely painful or hard-to-heal type injuries have successfully been treated and cured by shockwave therapy.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT), the evidence-backed application of shockwave treatment, is being adopted increasingly these days as the most effective treatment procedure for difficult-to-cure tendon conditions like elbow tendinopathies, patellar, tennis elbow, Achilles, gluteal, and hamstring.
Shockwave therapy, when administered on a patient, sends calibrated shockwaves into the injured tissues generating a series of small cavitation bubbles there. When the therapy progresses, the bubbles continue to be generated with the older ones bursting and stimulating pain-relieving enzymes, blood flow, and stem cell activity.
All these processes that are taking place in the background are quite natural and do not cause any side effects. Moreover, they trigger the organic stimulation, regeneration, and normalization of the tissues.
Three Immediate Results that Patients undergoing Shockwave Therapy experience
A patient undergoing shockwave therapy for a painful injury will start to experience the following with immediate effect:
- Quick relief from the pain
- Increased blood flow around the soft tissues
- Stimulation of stem cells which expedites the healing
Shockwave Therapy Treatment Procedure
If you are going for shockwave therapy for a specific condition, a comprehensive clinical examination of the condition is done to ascertain whether shockwave treatment is the right option to heal it. If the assessment gives the green signal, a course of shockwave treatment will be prescribed. A course will consist of three sessions with a week gap between each session. While undergoing shockwave therapy, patients are advised to do regular rehabilitation exercises.
The treatment does not involve anesthesia or any other kind of sedation. Before the treatment, a contact gel will be applied to the affected area. Following this, the head of the shockwave therapy machine will be moved over it.
During this process, shockwaves are passed to the injured tissues via the skin. The purpose of transmitting the waves through this controlled trauma is to trigger the body to produce the pain-relieving enzyme, blood flow, and stem cell stimulation. Healing of the injury begins when these three activities happen.
Patients are required to do rehabilitation exercises 24 hours before and after each session. It is also to be noted that the affected area needs to be rested. It may take up to ten weeks to cure after undergoing shockwave therapy in High Wycombe.
Common Conditions that Shockwave Therapy is recommended for
Shockwave therapy is recommended these days for several health conditions. It has become one of the most frequently chosen treatment procedures among athletes who suffer from chronic pains or injuries on their legs, knees or shoulders. The most common conditions that shockwave therapy is used for are as follows.
- Keen pain
- Foot pain
- Elbow pain
- Leg pain
- Shoulder pain
Knee Pain
Complicated knee injuries or knee pain can be treated through shockwave therapy in High Wycombe. The treatment focuses on healing the tendon by way of triggering the body’s natural healing mechanism.
Foot Pain
Chronic foot pain is a condition that affects a lot of people. There is an effective solution for this in shockwave therapy. The inflammation that affects the sole’s fibrous tissues can be effectively treated by non-invasive shockwave treatment.
Elbow Pain
As a result of gripping or twisting the hand, one may experience chronic elbow pain. Shockwave treatment offers a risk-free treatment for this condition.
Leg Pain
You experience chronic leg pain when the soft tissues between the lower leg and the back of the thigh undergo damage. A shockwave treatment consisting of three typical sessions can effectively heal this condition.
Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain happens due to damage caused to should tendons due to repetitive use. An effective shockwave treatment coupled with rehabilitation exercises can successfully heal this condition.
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Conclusion
Due to its lack of side effects, shockwave therapy has become increasingly popular among people these days. However, before you take up this treatment procedure, we highly recommend you to undergo a comprehensive examination of your condition by getting in touch with Physio Healing Hands and determine whether shockwave therapy in High Wycombe is appropriate for you or not.
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