Shockwave Therapy - Improving healing potential now
How Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) Helps Athletes Heal Faster
Athletes often deal with injuries to areas like the Achilles tendon, elbow, and shoulder. These injuries can limit performance and take a long time to heal. Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) is a modern, non-invasive treatment that uses focused sound waves to help damaged tissues heal more quickly and effectively.
Here’s how it works and what athletes can expect during recovery.
What Is Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT)?
ESWT delivers high-energy sound waves into specific areas of the body. Unlike radial wave devices, ESWT focuses the energy deeply and precisely. This allows it to target injured tendons, ligaments, and muscles to speed up healing.
How ESWT Works
Activates Cellular Healing
The sound waves trigger a process called mechanotransduction, which turns mechanical pressure into chemical signals. This boosts the activity of cells that create collagen, an essential part of tissue repair.Promotes New Blood Vessel Growth
The treatment creates small, controlled stress in the tissue that encourages new blood vessels to form. Better blood flow improves oxygen and nutrient delivery to the injured area.Decreases Inflammation
ESWT helps regulate inflammatory chemicals, which is especially useful in chronic conditions like tennis elbow or rotator cuff irritation.Reduces Pain
The therapy can calm overactive pain receptors and stimulate the release of natural pain-relieving chemicals.Breaks Down Scar Tissue and Calcifications
Focused acoustic waves can soften or break apart scar tissue and calcium buildup, helping the tissue move and function more normally.
How ESWT Helps Specific Injuries
Achilles Tendinopathy:
Supports collagen production, reduces tendon thickening, and improves strength and mobility. Then, we can strengthen and create improved force tolerance.Lateral Elbow Pain (Tennis Elbow):
Helps reverse degenerative changes in the extensor tendons and decreases inflammation.Shoulder Injuries:
Useful for rotator cuff issues and calcific tendinopathy by reducing calcium deposits and supporting tendon healing.
Healing Timeline
0–2 Weeks:
Many athletes notice pain relief early due to reduced nerve sensitivity and inflammation.2–6 Weeks:
Cellular activity increases, inflammation continues to improve, and tissue quality begins to strengthen.6–12 Weeks:
Collagen remodeling, improved blood supply, and breakdown of scar tissue lead to better function and long-term healing.
Conclusion
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy is a powerful tool for accelerating soft tissue healing in athletes. With its ability to reduce pain, improve tissue quality, and support faster recovery—all without surgery—ESWT is becoming an important option in sports medicine for Achilles, elbow, and shoulder injuries
SIDE NOTE: We have had several patients collaborate with us who are getting care elsewhere - Kickers for local fooball teams getting PT at a box clinic and needing extra support, people who have had metatarsal fractures but are not told anything to do about self care, or even pre-op for rotator cuff issues or prior to having a Total knee/hip for pain mangement. We have also seen acute injuries like shoulder dislocations, fibular fractures, and mensiscus injuries be healed more quickly with our support. We would love to work with your current provider and allow more healing potential to your situation!
“Kelly is amazing! She is so knowledgeable and knows so many different variations to help a certain injury. Went to 2 different PT’s in the area and couldn’t exactly get it fixed. She used the shockwave therapy and that was an absolute gamechanger. Most people with the machine only use you for money but she added different exercises and truly looks for the best thing to help you. She is truly the best and you will not regret giving her a shot!”
