Shockwave Therapy

Who is a candidate for shockwave therapy and who is not?

Shockwave therapy is used in many areas of medicine and is particularly helpful when tissue deep inside the body needs to be treated without surgery. It can be successfully used to treat inflammation, calcifications or injuries. Typical conditions for which shockwave therapy is used are heel spurs, tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis and calcific tendonitis of the shoulder.

However, ESWT is not suitable for everyone. There are certain situations and conditions in which this form of physiotherapy should be avoided, for example in patients who have any of the following:

• Blood clotting disorders
• Malignant tumor diseases
• Acute inflammation and open wounds in the treatment area
• Pregnancy
• Large nerves or blood vessels in the treatment area

A thorough medical history and consultation with our therapists in Zurich is therefore essential before starting physiotherapy treatment with ESWT to clarify potential risks.

How does shockwave therapy treatment work?

The application of ESWT begins with you being placed in a stable, relaxed position. Then our therapists align the shock wave device with the area of your body to be treated. By means of a gel applied to the skin, the shock waves generated by the device are transmitted into the body. The focused shockwave therapy is characterized by the fact that the shockwaves are targeted at a specific point in your body. A single treatment usually takes between 5 and 15 minutes. Normally, one to a maximum of three physiotherapy sessions are carried out at intervals of one to four weeks in order to treat the complaints as effectively as possible.

The advantages of shockwave therapy

Shockwave therapy offers numerous advantages, including:

• promoting bone growth: shockwave therapy stimulates the cells in the bone, in particular osteoblasts, which are responsible for new bone formation. This can accelerate the healing process of bone fractures.
• Improvement of blood flow: Shock waves can improve blood circulation in the treated areas by promoting the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). This helps to ensure that more oxygen and nutrients reach the affected tissue.
• Formation of growth factors: Shockwaves can stimulate the release of growth factors. These biochemical signaling molecules promote cell regeneration and play a crucial role in tissue healing.
• Tissue repair and regeneration: Shockwave therapy promotes tissue repair by stimulating the activation of stem cells. This is particularly relevant for the regeneration of muscle and tendon tissue.
• Relief of pain syndromes: Shockwaves can alleviate pain by inhibiting pain signals and reducing inflammation. This makes shockwave therapy particularly effective in relieving chronic pain syndromes.
• Reducing rehabilitation time: Shockwave therapy can accelerate the healing process and promote tissue regeneration, which can lead to a shorter rehabilitation time. This process is particularly important after injuries, operations or in the case of musculoskeletal complaints.