Shockwave therapy (also known as ‘extracorporeal shockwave therapy’ or ‘ESWT’) is a treatment technique in which patients are exposed to powerful ‘shockwaves’ that are precisely targeted to the desired location in the body using a treatment head to have a mechanical effect. 

Application of Shockwave Therapy

The most well-known medical application is the fragmentation of kidney stones using shockwaves. Physiotherapists use this method to treat musculoskeletal complaints, such as tennis elbow, calcification in the shoulder joint, chronic inflammation of the Achilles tendon, and plantar fasciitis. Shockwaves accelerate the healing process by activating the body’s self-healing properties, stimulating metabolism, and improving blood circulation.

Benefits of Shockwave Therapy

• Treatment without medication or surgery
• Short treatment duration (5 to 10 minutes per session)
• Excellent therapy success after an average of 4 to 5 treatments
• Treatment of the root causes rather than just the symptoms
• Pain relief and restoration of full mobility within a few days
• Few side effects. However, mild redness or swelling may occur immediately after treatment
• Thanks to shockwave therapy, an injection or even surgery may become unnecessary

For Which Conditions?

Scientific studies shockwave therapy 

Testa, G., Vescio, A., Perez, S., Consoli, A., Costarella, L., Sessa, G., & Pavone, V. (2020). Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy Treatment in Upper Limb Diseases: A Systematic Review. Journal of clinical medicine, 9(2), 453. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9020453 (https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9020453) 

, M., Juras, G., Chmielewska, D., Polak, A., Kucio, C., & Król, P. (2019). Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Achilles Tendinopathy. BioMed research international, 2019, 3086910. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3086910 (https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3086910)

 Kim, H. J., Park, J. W., & Nam, K. (2019). Effect of extracorporeal shockwave therapy on muscle spasticity in patients with cerebral palsy: meta-analysis and systematic review. European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 55(6), 761-771. https://doi.org/10.23736/S1973-9087.19.05888-X (https://doi.org/10.23736/S1973-9087.19.05888-X)