Shockwave Therapy

What is shockwave therapy?

Shockwave therapy delivers high-frequency acoustic waves through the skin to the injured tissue. The waves stimulate blood flow and the natural healing response in tissues that have become stuck in a slow-to-heal state, and can help settle pain. It is non-invasive: no needles, no medication, no downtime for most people.

Conditions it can help

Shockwave is most useful for persistent tendon and soft tissue problems, including:

• Achilles and other tendon pain
• Plantar fasciitis (heel pain)
• Tennis elbow
• Calcific tendonitis of the shoulder
• Muscle strains that are slow to settle

It tends to be considered when a condition has lingered for months rather than as a first-line treatment in the early days of an injury.

What to expect

Your physiotherapist first assesses whether shockwave is appropriate for your condition. During treatment, a handpiece is applied to the skin over the affected area for a few minutes. Most people describe the sensation as a firm, rapid tapping; it can be briefly uncomfortable over sore tissue, and the intensity is adjusted to what you can comfortably tolerate. A course of several sessions, usually about a week apart, is typical.

Shockwave therapy is available at our Gilles Street clinic in the Adelaide CBD, not at our Edwardstown rooms.

Part of a complete plan

Shockwave works best alongside the things that actually change tendon capacity: a graded exercise program, load management and addressing the biomechanics that overloaded the tissue in the first place. We use it as one component of a plan, not a magic wand.