What is Shock Wave Therapy?

Shock wave therapy is a non-invasive treatment that delivers high-energy acoustic waves to targeted tissues, reducing inflammation and promoting stem cell production to accelerate healing. 

How does Shock Wave Therapy work?

Shockwave therapy uses devices that deliver high-energy acoustic waves—lasting just nanoseconds or microseconds—to stimulate healing in damaged soft tissues, ligaments, and tendons.

This treatment promotes healing through several key physiological effects:

  • Enhanced Cellular Activity: The shockwaves increase cell permeability, triggering a localized inflammatory response that boosts blood flow—similar to a deep tissue massage or a TheraGun, but more intense and targeted.
  • Pain Reduction: The therapy disrupts nerve bundles responsible for pain (nociceptors), helping to reduce pain by modulating signals in the peripheral nervous system.
  • Accelerated Healing: Shockwave therapy stimulates the release of hormones and the activation of cells involved in tissue repair, effectively speeding up the body’s natural healing process.

What sports injuries can be treated with Shock Wave Therapy?

  • Feet: Plantar fasciitis, Morton’s neuroma, nerve impingement or ligament injury
  • Ankle: Chronic ankle pain, whether from osteoarthritis or ligamentous instability; a ligamentous defect in the ankle; gastrocnemius muscle strain or injury
  • Lower leg: Achilles tendonitis; gastrocnemius muscle strain or injury; retrocalcaneal bursitis (heel pain)
  • Knee: IT band; insertional pain; strain to the medial or lateral collateral (ligaments that form either side of the knee); jumper’s knee; patella tendinopathy
  • Upper leg: quad injury or hamstring strain or injury
  • Hand: strains and injuries
  • Elbow: Little leaguer’s elbow; tennis elbow; tricep or bicep elbow injuries
  • Hip: Gluteal muscle strain; bursitis; iliopsoas bursitis; hip flexor tendinosis
  • Shoulder: Calcinosis of the rotator cuff; partial tear of the rotator cuff; bicep injuries

Who is a candidate for Shock Wave Therapy?

Shockwave therapy is especially beneficial for patients with persistent injuries that haven’t responded to traditional treatments like rest, physical therapy, or medication.

“We don’t see shockwave as a replacement for standard therapies, but rather as a powerful next step for those who haven’t found relief. Many of our patients come in with chronic or stubborn pain from musculoskeletal or sports-related injuries—whether it’s been bothering them for a few weeks or several years.”

We aim to use it where it can make the most impact. It’s best suited for patients who are at least four to six weeks post-injury and haven’t seen meaningful progress with other treatments. While it can sometimes be used for more acute injuries, it’s most often recommended for those dealing with long-standing, unresolved pain.