Shock Wave Therapy is a non-surgical approach to relieving chronic conditions. It involves running a small, hand-held machine over the affected area, sending acoustic waves to interact with tissue. These waves help to accelerate tissue repair and improve mobility, relieving pain and helping you get back to normal.
It can be used to treat conditions such as:
- Tennis elbow
- Plantar fasciitis
- Achilles tendinopathy, and
- Chronic hip, knee and shoulder pain.
It also helps to increase circulation, remove scar tissue, and rapidly reduce pain.
Clinical studies show a 76% improvement in quality of life, and an 85% faster return to sports. It is cleared for use by NICE, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, and is already a very popular treatment throughout Europe.
How it works
The treatment is non-invasive and non-surgical, and is simple and easy to apply. There are three steps:
Your clinician locates the area to be treated by feeling it with their fingers.
Once they’ve found the right spot, they’ll apply some gel which will help the acoustic waves to get to the right spot smoothly.
Finally, the shock wave is applied by slightly pushing a hand-held machine against the area to be treated.
For the treatment to be effective, you’ll likely need a course of three to five sessions.
Erectile Dysfunction
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (EWST) works by passing shock waves, an intense but short energy wave that travels faster than the speed of sounds into the tissues.
Shockwave treatment initiates a proflamatory response in the tissue where the shockwaves have been applied. The body responds by increasing the blood circulation and metabolism in the impact area which in turn accelerates the body’s own healing processes.
- Promotes angio-genesis (development of new blood vessels) in the penis which means that the blood flow to the penis increases and hence stronger erections are achieved
- Rejuvenation of penile smooth muscle – the majority of patients suffering from ED do so because the smooth muscle in their penile arteries has been damaged thus inhibiting the functioning of the so-called veno-occlusive mechanism. Shockwave therapy has been shown to induce the body to repair the smooth muscle in the penis and thus improve the function of the veno-occlusive mechanism.
If you would like to know more about how shockwave therapy can help with Erectile Dysfunction please contact our lead physiotherapist Rosemary Lillie.
Our Physiotherapy Clinic Services
The West Wimbledon Physiotherapy Clinic aims to provide a selection of services to maintain and enhance health and wellbeing. Although primarily a physiotherapy clinic, a range of other treatments are available.
