Top Benefits of Shockwave Therapy for Pain Relief
Shockwave therapy can be used as a treatment option on its own or used to complement exercise therapy, manual therapy, and other modalities, helping you to return to physical activity sooner. It can relieve pain from injuries, illnesses, and other medical conditions without the risks, downtime, and costs associated with surgery. Shockwave therapy also targets the root cause of musculoskeletal pain rather than just masking its symptoms, restoring mobility, enhancing physical function, and improving your overall quality of life.
What is Shockwave Therapy?
Shockwave therapy uses high-energy acoustic waves to stimulate healing within damaged or inflamed tissues. This treatment method is delivered through a handheld applicator that transmits waves non-invasively through the skin to reach muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues. While shockwave therapy was originally developed for breaking up kidney stones (lithotripsy), its technology has now been adapted for musculoskeletal rehabilitation and pain relief. It is now widely used to address chronic pain conditions that do not respond to conventional care.
Top Benefits of Shockwave Therapy
Some of the benefits attached to undergoing shockwave therapy at Edmonds include:
- Effective pain relief: Shockwave therapy interrupts pain signals before they reach the brain and reduces the sensitivity of nerve endings in the affected area. Therefore, it relieves pain and discomfort in people dealing with chronic pain that does not improve with rest, medication, or other traditional treatments.
- Faster healing and tissue regeneration: The acoustic waves from shockwave therapy stimulate the cells to produce more collagen, a key protein essential for repairing tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues. It also boosts cellular metabolism, triggering faster healing in the tissues and reducing the risk of degenerative changes that can worsen over time.
- Improved blood flow and nutrient delivery: Shockwave therapy improves the circulation of blood in the affected area, ensuring the prompt delivery of oxygen and essential nutrients for the repair of injured tissues. Improved blood flow speeds up recovery and supports the body’s ability to flush away waste products that can delay healing.
- Breakdown of scar tissue and calcifications: Scar tissues that form after surgery or healed wounds can restrict movement. However, shockwave therapy can soften and loosen dense scar tissue, restoring more natural flexibility to muscles and tendons. It can also break up calcium deposits, common in shoulder tendinitis, making it easier for the body to reabsorb them and restore normal mobility.
- Non-invasive and drug-free: Shockwave therapy avoids the risks, pain, and downtime associated with surgery because it is delivered through the skin without any incisions. Sometimes, shockwave also eliminates the need for pain-relieving medications, helping you to avoid side effects and dependency concerns.
Conclusion
Shockwave therapy offers a unique combination of benefits without the need for surgery or long-term medication. It addresses chronic pain conditions, their symptoms, and the underlying causes of pain. Therefore, if you have been suffering from chronic pain conditions that refuse to respond to conventional treatments, you should consider undergoing shockwave therapy at Lilly Physical Therapy.
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