Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy

Radial Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy is an  evidence-based treatment that involves passing low energy pressure waves into damaged tissues to increase bloodflow and stimulate repair whilst reducing pain and allowing your body to restart its own natural healing process.

What are Radial Shockwaves?

Shockwave therapy has been used since the 1980’s for the non-surgical treatment of kidney stones, fast forward 40 years and its now used to treat many areas of the body.  Radial shockwaves are low energy pressure waves that are delivered into damaged tissues such as tendons and muscle, this increases blood flow, has an analgesic effect and stimulates the body’s natural repair and regeneration processes.

Who uses Shockwave Therapy?

This treatment is widely used in physiotherapy, podiatry, osteopathy, sports medicine and
orthopaedics to provide fast pain relief and increased mobility. Shockwave Therapy is clinically
proven, recognised by the top orthopaedic hospitals and used by high-profile professional sports bodies

How successful is the treatment?

After only 2-3 sessions, many patients report complete pain relief or significant pain reduction.
The therapy eliminates pain or restores mobility, thus improving your quality of life. In chronic conditions alone, an overall success rate ranges from 60-80% when other therapeutic treatments have been unsuccessful.

What can Shock Wave Therapy Treat?

• Plantar Fasciitis
• Myofascial Pain
• Chronic Tendinopathies such as: Achilles, Patellar (Knee), Gluteal, Adductors,
  Proximal Hamstring, Tennis/Golfers Elbow, Distal Biceps
• Calcific Tendinopathy.

The treatment is relatively quick and although some patients may experience discomfort during the procedure the shock waves can have an analgesic effect.  Evidence has shown that 4-6 back to back sessions are usually enough to see results so be prepared to commit to regular sessions.  As the shock waves damage the tissue to evoke the healing process you will need to allow time for the tissue healing process to occur so you will have to adapt your activity level to suit this.  As most chronic soft tissue injuries are due to tissue overload its a good time to make necessary changes or adaptations to your training so be prepared to have this discussion with your therapist.

How much will it cost?

The treatment cost varies from clinic to clinic but here at KHPhysiotherapy our aim is to make this treatment accessible to all.  The price will be £65 per session and expect to have anywhere from 3 to 6 sessions.  Diagnostic ultra sound may be appropriate to confirm underlying pathologies but at this time we are unable to do this in clinic.  There are nearby clinics that can perform this.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions the video above provides very simple answers.

You can also get in touch if you have any questions

info@khphysiotherapy.com