What is Extracorporeal Focused Shock Wave Therapy?
In the body, these high energy acoustic waves stimulate the cells and the body’s intrinsic healing mechanism.1 In Extracorporeal Focused Shock Wave Therapy, the wave is focused through a lens and transmitted into the body, up to a depth of about 4.7″.
You may have heard of high energy Focused Shock Wave (F-SW) devices that can destroy tissues like kidney stones. The F-SW used in physical therapy offer low and medium energy F-SW that are not capable of destroying any tissue but are helpful in pain therapy treatments.
The number of treatments depends on two factors:
The indication and how the tissue responds.
Typically, 3-6 treatments are necessary with resolution of some symptoms being achieved by the third treatment.
An improvement in function and pain relief is expected after the first treatment.
Bear in mind that the treatment can have an analgesic effect for several hours after treatment**
Benefits of Extracorporeal Focused Shock Wave Therapy
- Treatment time (minutes)
- Deep tissues can be reached
- Non-invasive and no known significant adverse effects
- Precise & targeted application
- Results in few treatments
- Alternative to medication
