Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT)

April 13, 2021

• Do you suffer from achilles, heel, knee, hip, shoulder or elbow pain?
• Is it not improving on its own?
• Have your tried physiotherapy, exercises or advice without any progress so far?
• Whether your symptoms are causing you to struggle to sit down at work, having difficulty walking down the stairs or your sport or exercise is restricted, we may have a solution. 
• Physiotherapy Matters are using ESWT in clinic now!

What is ESWT and how does it work?

Extracorporeal Shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a non-invasive treatment that assists the body’s natural healing process by causing an increased inflammatory response which promotes blood flow, recovery and remodelling of damaged or dysfunctional tissue, it can also help with breakdown of scar tissue/calcification and most importantly it stimulates pain relief by blocking nerve signals to the brain.

What does it treat?

ESWT, often referred to as simply Shockwave therapy for short, has been shown to help with multiple tendon and soft tissue problems including plantar fasciitis, Achilles Tendinopathy, Golfers/Tennis Elbow, Patellar Tendinopathy, Trochanteric Bursitis, Hamstring Tendinopathy, Shoulder Tendinopathy/Calcification, Shin Splints and Myofascial Trigger Points.

It has been shown to effectively reduce symptoms in the acute stage as well as long term problems.

What are the benefits of ESWT?

• It is a non-invasive, safe treatment
• Takes place in the out-patient setting (quick and easy)
• ESWT is a highly effective treatment for patients with tendon pain, it relieves pain in 80% of plantar fasciitis patients in 3-4 treatments (Evidence based)
• Substitute for surgical intervention
• Reduced need for medication, sedation or injections
• Key role in elite sports in speeding up recovery and return to sport/daily activities
• Award winning in medical research

What treatment will I receive?

At Physiotherapy Matters we advise to complete 4-6 sessions of Shockwave Therapy which are completed once weekly alongside advice, an individually tailored home exercise programme and modification of activity to offload the tendon which is continued 6 weeks post treatment completion.

For more information of how ESWT can help you call/email us at Physiotherapy Matters and one of our experienced chartered physiotherapists can discuss treatment further.