What is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT)?

 

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is now an established therapeutic procedure for the treatment of a wide number of musculoskeletal complaints, including heel, knee, shoulder and elbow pain, calcific disorders and some fractures. The treatment involves very high energy waves.

 

Shock Wave aims to:

(a) reduce the pain arising from nerve endings

(b) dissipate calcium in tissues which may be aggravating pain 

(c) promote the healing response to injury.

 

The treatment is a modified form of lithotripsy, which is a very high energy treatment used to get rid of kidney stones.

 

What does the treatment involve?

 

In our clinics, all treatments are administered by a consultant who is a specialist in musculoskeletal injuries. 

 

Therapy involves 1-3 treatments, each lasting 15 minutes, usually performed one to three weeks apart. The sound waves are delivered to the painful area under the guidance of an imaging system.

 

In the first few minutes of treatment you may experience some discomfort. You may choose to have a local anaesthetic injection administered prior to treatment: this varies between different individuals and will be discussed with you.

 

Unlike many therapies, side effects of treatment are few. The most commonly noted one is that of discomfort during treatment. However, the delivery of the shock wave therapy can be stopped at any time during treatment at your request.

 

It is important to note that it may be up to 12 weeks after the treatment course before improvement is noted. Treatment courses can be repeated if necessary.