Recover from pain and injury faster with shockwave treatment – now available!
You will likely already know that we’re all about providing world-class podiatric care through our innovative and dynamic treatments and health professionals. What you may not know, is that as of this year, we have officially added SHOCKWAVE treatment to our list of services! Because the term ‘shockwave’ may not be traditionally associated with feelings of pleasantness and all things lovely, we’ve come here today to answer all your questions about shockwave and help you to understand how it can really help your pain levels, your injury, and your quality of life.
1. What on earth is shockwave treatment?
Shockwave treatment, or shockwave ‘therapy’, is a device that has a handpiece that is placed against the injured or painful area. It works to generate acoustic energy due to the speed and weight of the projectile within the handpiece, which then converts the produced kinetic energy into acoustic energy (if we’re going to get technical!). These radiate as pulses from the handpiece into the area and tissues below.
2. What effects does shockwave produce?
Shockwave works on both new and long-standing injuries to:
Reduce pain
Reduce inflammation
Facilitate the body’s healing and repair process
Encourage the formation of new blood vessels, thereby increasing oxygenation of the injury site
Stimulate collagen production
3. Which conditions can shockwave help?
The short answer – so many! It has shown superior results when it comes to sporting injuries, as well as overuse injuries that occur from repetitive daily activities. These include (but certainly aren’t limited to):
Plantar fasciitis
Heel spurs
Achilles tendinopathy
Other tendinopathies
Bursitis
Calf injuries
Hamstrings
Trigger points
Shin splints
Bone repairs
To clarify, shockwave is being used worldwide to treat a variety of painful conditions within the entire body! It is due to our scope of practice as Podiatrists that we only use shockwave on the feet and legs.
If you’re wanting to use shockwave to help with pain in your upper body like your shoulder, book in with our sister clinic, The Physio, by clicking here.
4. How does shockwave compare to other treatments on the market?
This is best answered by sharing the benefits of shockwave treatment:
No need for injections
No medications
Non-invasive
Non-surgical
Reduces pain and improves healing
Stimulates the body’s own processes to facilitate repair
5. Is shockwave painful?
Some patients experience mild tenderness during treatment which stops as soon as the treatment is over, and others experience no pain at all. We’ve noticed that the more severe and painful your injury is to begin with, the greater the likelihood of some tenderness being present – which makes sense as technically someone is pressing (gently) into your bruised or damaged area.
Don’t worry – because we’re able to control the settings and intensity of the pulses, we can adjust accordingly if we need to. Your first session is usually always the worst (even if it’s not that bad), as we expect the pain to continue to decrease after that session!
6. How do I know if shockwave treatment is right for me?
The first step is to get assessed by one of our expert Podiatrists here at The Podiatrist. Based on your history and symptoms, we’ll be able to determine whether shockwave is likely to help your injury and if so, we’ll get you started!
It is important to note that shockwave isn’t a standalone treatment, meaning we don’t just do shockwave and that’s it. It’s part of a comprehensive treatment plan to resolve your problem and reduce the likelihood of it returning. The plan may also include supporting your feet with the right footwear, strapping the foot and more.
7. Why did you get Shockwave?
We love seeing the best outcomes for our patients. We are always learning new techniques and going on courses to do so. Every once in a while, we come across a piece of technology that is showing good results in the industry. We conduct our research, bring it in for a trial, and if we get good results too and all our patients and podiatrists are happy, we purchase the equipment to make it a regular offering.
When it came to shockwave, this machine absolutely exceeded the expectations of both our team and our patients. We completely understood why so many clinics offer this service around the world and we’re proud to do so now too for our community in Toowoomba and Darling Downs as part of our mission to bring world class locally.
8. Have more questions?
We’d love to hear them! If you want to know more about shockwave and if it’s right for you then please call us on 07 4638 3022, contact us via our Facebook page, email us here or book your appointment to talk to one of our podiatrists!
