Can Shockwave Treatment Fix my Foot Pain?
Do you have a long term injury that’s stopping you from doing the things you love?
Have you tried many different treatments all with limited success?
Wondering where to go from here?
Have you tried our ‘Shockwave Therapy’ for musculoskeletal conditions?
Shockwave therapy involves specialist equipment using high energy sound waves to increase blood supply to damaged tissue, allowing for more effective regeneration and repair.
This means you can get back to doing the things you love more quickly and can keep leading the amazing life you deserve!
What is Shockwave Treatment?
At Complete Podiatry, we provide each of our clients with an individualised ‘Management Plan’ to ensure they know their road to recovery.
When treating any musculoskeletal conditions, we have four phases to our treatment plans:
- Manage Pain
- Offload the Damaged Tissue
- Improve the Health of the Damaged Tissue
- Strengthen the Damaged Tissue
Shockwave therapy is a treatment that we provide as part of the ‘Improve the Health of the Damaged Tissue’ phase of our management plans.
Shockwave therapy is a service that we offer to our clients
How Does Shockwave Treatment Work?
Let’s get technical for a minute...
Shockwave treatment involves delivering high energy sound waves to damaged tissue, inducing neovascularization and the release of various growth factors(1).
This leads to an improvement in blood supply and an increase in cell proliferation, therefore leading to tissue regeneration (1).
Shockwave is also believed to have additional effects in activating several signal transduction pathways, affecting immunomodulation and also destroying sensory unmyelinated nerve fibres (2,3).
In simpler terms, shockwave treatment encourages the release of growth factors and the growth of new blood vessels, allowing for more effective tissue regeneration.
It also has an effect on changing pain pathways and altering the immune response.
Shockwave treatment is non-invasive, has a fast recovery time and is convenient for the client.
What Can Shockwave Treatment Help Me With?
Shockwave therapy was originally developed as a method for breaking down kidney stones, but in the last 20 years, it’s uses in treating musculoskeletal conditions have been explored further.
Shockwave treatment can be used on many musculoskeletal conditions, including foot, leg, knee, thigh and hip pain.
Conditions that we commonly use it on at Complete Podiatry include:
- Plantar Fasciitis/Fasciopathy
- Plantar Plate Tears
- Morton’s Neuroma
- Abductor Hallucis Brevis Tendinopathy
- Extensor and Flexor Tendinopathies
- Posterior and Anterior Tibialis Tendinopathy
- Achilles Tendinopathy
- Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
- Peroneal Tendinopathy
- Patellar Tendinopathy
- Hamstring Tendinopathy
- Gluteal Tendinopathy
- Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome
- Trigger points through tight muscle bellies
- Bone disorders- stress fractures, non-union fractures, avascular necrosis
- Some neurological issues (change input = change output)
The Evidence For Shockwave Therapy
Shockwave therapy is still a relatively new and evolving treatment modality therefore, the research evidence for its effectiveness as a treatment for musculoskelatal conditions is somewhat limited.
However, the current body of evidence does support the use of shockwave therapy for a number of musculoskeletal conditions.
Throughout the literature, it is generally reported that shockwave therapy is more effective for pain management then conservative treatments and corticosteroid injections, and as effective as surgery(2,4,5).
Clinically, we see great success using shockwave therapy in combination with a proper management plan.
How Do We Use Shockwave Therapy at Complete Podiatry?
At Complete Podiatry, we use shockwave therapy in combination with other treatments including orthotic therapy, muscle strengthening and stretching and other soft tissue modalities.
Your treatment plan is individualized to your needs depending on the condition, and tolerance and response to the shockwave treatment.
Generally, most clients will require 3-5 sessions spaced one week apart.
Some people may require additional sessions depending on their response to treatment.
Shockwave therapy is more effective in pain management
Who Can Use Shockwave Treatment?
Shockwave therapy can be used by most people except those who...
- Suffer from a bleeding abnormality
- Take blood-thinning medication
- Are pregnant
- Have a history of any growth/tumour conditions
- Have had a joint replacement or bone screws/plates in the area to be treated
It is important that you discuss these issues with your podiatrist before starting treatment.
Everyone responds to treatments differently; side effects (if any) will usually appear within 2 days of the treatment being performed, and generally resolve after 3-5 days.
The most common side effects may include reddening, swelling, pain, worsening conditions, haematoma and red spots.
Your podiatrist will monitor your response to the treatment and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.
The human body is a complex structure and like many things in medicine, we can provide no guarantee of the effectiveness of treatment.
We can only keep up-to-date with the latest, quality scientific research and make this available to you to help make your decision.
If you’re ready to say goodbye to pain and hello to all the things you love doing again, get in touch with us on 8330 0004 or Book Online
Administrator
Complete Podiatry