If you have been experiencing some muscle or tissue wear and tear for a long time now, you might want to consider undergoing shockwave therapy. As many are still not aware of this method of treating the affected tissues, here’s how shockwave therapy works.
A series of low energy acoustic pulsations are applied to the part of the body suffering pain, through a device. The device has a gel medium through which the waves are transferred. In other words, a radial shockwave is directly applied at the spot of the injury to cure the pain. Well, some people still don’t know about the immense benefits that shockwave therapy offers. Hence, below are some very basic benefits of the therapy that you should know before you book an appointment with your physiotherapist.
Is Non-Invasive, Fast and Proven Effective
Shockwave therapy or medically known as extracorporeal shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment method. This means that the treatment is carried out without any incisions into the body. As mentioned earlier, this method uses a device that uses a gel medium to apply the waves to the injured part of the body. This, in turn, causes only little to no pain. Moreover, shockwave therapy is also known as a fast way of treating injured tissues. To be precise, it takes just about 8-10 minutes for completing one session of the therapy. For people who are wondering if the goodness is just theoretical, studies suggest that shockwave therapy is scientifically proven.
Deals with Chronic Inflammation
Responding to the shockwave treatment, the body stimulates inflammatory responses. However, it is important to not consume any anti-inflammatory medications since it’s the body trying to heal itself naturally. To be precise, it’s causing the tissues to heal naturally which is essential for the tendons to reach an acute stage. When this happens, the tissues repair on their own, meaning, produced collagens accelerate tissue regeneration.
Is Completely Drug-free
Unlike other medications or therapies that require injecting various chemicals into the body before initiating the procedure, shockwave therapy has no such bodily demands. Except, that part of the body that will be undergoing the treatment is injected with local anesthesia. This is done to dull the sensations or vibrations released due to the shockwaves that can be painful for the patient. If the patient still experiences any kind of pain or discomfort, the vibrations are adjusted accordingly and no use of additional drugs or painkillers is done.
Treats the Cause with Limited Side Effects
Shockwave therapy does not just work on the diverse symptoms of the injury but on the root cause of the pain. The procedure completely eradicates the pain within a few sessions of the shockwave therapy. Apart from that, the therapy does not exhibit any side effects other than minor redness or swelling in the area. But, as mentioned before, the tissues are affected by the therapy and regeneration takes place which may cause the swelling.
If you still have some questions in your mind regarding shockwave therapy or any other physiotherapy services, feel absolutely free to enquire with Physiatrix Rehab.