Shockwave Therapy

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What Does Shockwave Therapy Do?

Delta Physiotherapy & Rehab Mississauga Shockwave Therapy

In the past injuries like shin tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, jumper’s knee and many more were incredibly challenging to treat or heal.

Shockwave Therapy changed all of this. It was originally used in the medical community to break up kidney stones without the need for surgery. Then over 25 years ago it was discovered to be beneficial for a wide range of conditions.

Shockwave Therapy (a.k.a Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy) produces high-pulse sound waves to the injured area that basically helps speed up your body’s natural healing processes by increasing blood flow to the area. It can stimulate collagen formation, break down scar tissue, and create a natural pain-relief effect. 

When many people hear the word “shockwave” they instantly think of an electric jolt you’d get from touching an outlet. But the shockwaves used in this type of therapy are high energy sound waves that create air pressure that transfers energy to the applicator and is then directed at the injured area.

These shockwaves trigger your body’s own repair mechanisms to speed up healing and offer long-term improvement.

The Ultimate Guide To Shockwave Therapy

Start Feeling Better In As Few As 3 Visits

Overcome Your Back Pain, Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain & More.

Tell us what hurts, and we will treat your pain in the shortest time possible. Get effective treatment for your condition in less than 30 minutes so you can get back to doing what you live… pain-free.

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Get a personalized care plan so you can feel better in as few as 3 visits. We use advanced therapy techniques proven to ease pain, accelerate recovery, improve mobility and overall health.

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Our team of licensed physiotherapists, chiropractors, registered massage therapists are professionals and in human anatomy and biomechanics. You will get the perfect care plan to target the root of your pain so you can get back to doing what you love, everyday! 

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This appointment is your opportunity to tell us what hurts and discover whether shockwave therapy is a good fit for you! During this session, you will talk with a chiropractor on a phone call (or online) and create the right care plan specifically for your pain. There is no obligation, this session is only to find out if shockwave therapy can help you getting back to doing the things you love in life.

About PainHero

If you’re like most you don’t want to wait days or weeks to get treated for your pain. And you don’t want to have to spend your time calling nearby clinics to find the one who can see you the fastest.

That’s where PainHero comes In – Canada’s largest network of physiotherapists, chiropractors, and registered massage therapists. 

Our Platform is used by clinics where they post their open appointment times. So you can quickly compare availability and wait times for clinics near you without having to pick up the phone. Then book an appointment within seconds and even see someone that day if you want. So you can get back to doing the things you love faster.

Plus unlike other sites who let anyone on or just rely on google reviews. We hand pick clinics based on a 50-point inspection, which includes everything from checking reviews, ratings, reputation, history, complaints, satisfaction, trust, cost, and general excellence.

Why PainHero?

Improve the way your body moves so you can continue to do the things you love. PainHero is Canada’s largest network of physiotherapists, chiropractors, and registered massage therapists. Our mission is to make it easy for you to find the top clinics in your community. We handpick the top clinics using our 50 point inspection based on patient reviews, complaints, and patient outcomes. 

Whether you’re seeking pain relief or preventative care, you can expect our patient-centric approach to be new and different from any healthcare experience you’ve had before. Perhaps even life-changing.  

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The Ultimate Guide To Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave Therapy Benefits

shockwave therapy benefits

When these sound waves interact with the tissues of your body these beneficial effects may occur:

Generate New Blood Vessels

Blood flow is critical for healing tissue and injures.  Shockwave Therapy has been shown to stimulate angiogenesis which means it creates new capillaries in the target tissue. Thus increasing blood flow to the injured area for faster recovery.

Reduces Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is often the cause of chronic pain in your body. Inflammation is a natural response from your body to help heal the injured area. However, inflammation that doesn’t end can do more harm than good slowing down recovery. Shockwave Therapy can help reduce inflammation thereby accelerating healing.

Stimulation of collagen formation

Production of enough collagen is essential for the repair processes. Shockwave therapy increases production of collagen. As the injured area returns back to having strong collagen fibres the functionality can be restored.

Not only that, there are several more benefits that make this treatment attractive to patients besides the high success rate.

No Downtime 

It is non-invasive and non surgical so patients can return to their normal life right after treatment. Patients can even drive themselves home after.

Dissolves Calcium Build-Up

When tendons go through chronic inflammation it can create a calcific response and can severely limit your mobility and range of motion.

For example, if there is calcium buildup in the shoulder it can cause worsening symptoms of impingement and pain with movement. Calcium build up in other tendons like the patella tendon can cause that stiff feeling or limited movement.

Interrupts Pain Signals

You see, pain actually comes from your brain not the injured area. For example, if your knee hurts, the pain is not really in your knee. The knee is sending signals to your brain, then your brain basically says that hurts. Shockwave Therapy can help override these signals from reaching your brain. The medical term for this is Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Control (DNIC).

Check out this post (Read the caption) from ONE80 Health to learn more about Shockwave Therapy:

Cost Effective

The quicker your injury heals the less time you need to spend in rehabilitation. This can be a helpful alongside other therapies like chiropractic, massage and physiotherapy.

How Does Shockwave Therapy Work?

Once the Physiotherapist or Chiropractor identifies where the pain is coming from some gel is applied to the injured area to help the sound waves travel more easily through your tissue and to protect the skin from undue irritation.

Then the hand held Shockwave device is applied to the injured area.

How the shockwave device works is, it has a metal cylinder and there is a piece of metal that moves really quickly inside like a jackhammer. Now it’s not the part that touches your skin.

That part just makes contact with another piece of metal at the front of the device that doesn’t move. Because it crashes into it, it creates a sound wave. The sound wave then spreads through and is absorbed by the body causing the therapeutic effect. It’s been shown to be very effective for pain management in many different conditions.

Shockwave treatment courtesy of Lime Health and Wellness (Read the caption)

Conditions Successfully Treated With Shockwave Therapy

According to a study done at the University of Peloponnese in Greece it was found that Shockwave Therapy was highly effective in relieving pain, increasing mobility, and quality of life. 

The conditions they treated successfully were Tendinopathies such as plantar fasciitis, achilles tendinopathy, rotator cuff tendinopathy, and elbow tendinopathy. They found no significant side effects. Those are the only conditions they tested with, however there are many more conditions it’s known to be beneficial for.

 

I’ll divide these complaints into 16 categories:

Many patients feel relief after just one or two treatments. It just depends on how severe the injury is and the type of injury. During the treatment, the stimulation of your tissues can have a pain numbing effect that can last for hours. For others it can last for days.

Generally it can take up to 16 weeks to notice the full benefits of this Therapy.

What to Expect During and After Shockwave Therapy

what to expect during and after shockwave therapy

Before your Shockwave physiotherapy session can begin, your therapist will discuss your symptoms and then assess your health to determine if this therapy would be beneficial for your condition.

Once they determine you are a good fit there are three steps for treatment.

Step 1:

They will first locate the area to be treated by lightly pressing their finger to find the most tinder spot.

Step 2:

They will then apply a gel on and around the injured area. 

Step 3:

The hand held shockwave device will generate powerful sound waves that travel through the body which will only last for 5-15 minutes depending how many areas need to be treated.

Shockwave therapy causes your body to generate new tissue cells in the injured area.

The healing can take place over days, weeks, or months. Most will notice relief after the first treatment but 3-5 treatments are typically needed.

After the session, you may experience temporary tenderness and soreness in the treated area. Even if you have no pain after treatment it’s best to avoid strenuous activity for 48 hours that could stress the treated area.

What Are The Side Effects?

You may have mild bruising, swelling, pain, numbness, or tingling in the treated area which is minimal compared to if you had surgery. However, these symptoms should decrease rather quickly.

Check out this post from PhysioLink Porters Lake to learn more about Shockwave Therapy (Read the caption):

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Find out whether chiropractor can help you get back to doing the things you love in life. 

Is Shockwave Therapy Painful?

You may feel some discomfort during the treatment. Most patients say it feels like little pulses against their skin.

If it is too painful for you, then you can tell your specialist to adjust the intensity to the right level for you.

Each session only lasts a few minutes so most patients can tolerate the level of discomfort.

Before you arrive it’s best to wear comfortable loose fitting clothes that make it easy to move around. It will make the session more comfortable for you. 

Check out this great post from Vitality Physiotherapy and Wellness Centre (Read the caption):

It’s best to avoid any vigorous activity for 24 hours after a session to prevent the natural healing processes from being disrupted.

When shock waves are delivered too frequently or with too much intensity, they can damage tissue and actually cause the condition to worsen. That’s why it’s important to find a physiotherapist who is experienced in this treatment to avoid that.

Is Shockwave Therapy Covered By Insurance?

Most insurance companies cover this type of therapy. For those without insurance it’s affordable and typically costs less than a Physiotherapy session.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Shockwave therapy has a high success rate around the world. There have been many studies done on the effectiveness of this therapy for a wide range of conditions that took longer to recover from prior to using shockwave therapy.

 

The number of treatments varies based on the type of injury. Your specialist will be able to determine how any treatments you may need. However, typically you will need 3-5 treatments which are done 3-10 days apart. Some even experience relief after the first treatment.

Most patients experience noticeable pain relief right after the treatment. There may be some soreness in the treated area. However this soreness is not limiting.

Book Your BACK NECK SHOULDER KNEE ELBOW HIP WRIST FOOT Pain Consult

Shockwave Therapy is one of several possible methods for relieving pain that do not rely on prescription medications and all the side effects and baggage they come with. Not to mention that most drugs can only mask pain, but rarely address root causes. Find a clinic if you are suffering from muscle tightness, soreness, or pain to improve your quality of life, today.