While the benefits of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy are many, the precise mechanism through which this technology works has somewhat eluded scientists. For this reason, researchers have recently studied shockwave therapy in water.
Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy, versus focused shockwave therapy, is the most common type of shockwave treatment for pain relief. However, the latter is growing in popularity, especially with its propensity for precision, depth, and patient comfort when it comes to acute cases.
These two modalities differ not only when it comes to their physical properties and mode of generation, but also in terms of the magnitude of the standard parameters (pressure amplitude, pulse duration, impact) used and the therapeutic tissue penetration depths achieved.
For treatments where the targeted tissue is superficial, such as plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow or the Achilles tendon, radial pressure waves will give patients good results. The Storz radial systems offer a wide range of transmitters, including fascia and spine applicators, which allows for both local treatments and the treatment of broad superficial areas.
Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy offers non-invasive relief for many painful ailments, including tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, and heel spurs. For this treatment, a handheld device delivers pressure waves through the patient’s skin to the area of injury. This stimulates blood circulation for faster recovery. It is also possible that the treatment desensitizes pain sensors by overstimulating them.
In order to fully understand this process, researchers found studying acoustic sound waves in water proved effective because water has a similar acoustic impedance to human tissue and it functioned as a convenient, transparent medium to investigate the therapy. The hope with this study was that the findings would help inform best practices for patient care.
“We examined the pressure waves radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy creates under different settings using a needle-type hydrophone, which can detect and measure small changes in pressure,” said author Xiaodong Chen. “We used a high-speed camera to visualize the cavitation bubbles created by the shockwave therapy, providing a visual representation of the therapy’s impact at the microscopic level.”
Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy offers non-invasive relief for many painful ailments, including tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, and heel spurs. A handheld device delivers pressure waves through the patient’s skin to the area of injury, which is believed to stimulate blood circulation for faster recovery.
Using computer modeling informed by their experiment, the team identified the key parameters, like location, pulse frequency, and energy, and their effects on the resulting shock waves.
“The ability to determine the best parameters for shock wave therapy through predictive models can improve the overall efficacy of the treatment and lead to better patient outcomes, reduced recovery times, and a lower likelihood of needing repeat treatments,” said Chen. “The insights from our research can contribute to the standardization of radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment protocols, which can be widely applied in various clinical settings to treat musculoskeletal disorders.”
For more information about shockwave therapy, or for inquiries related to purchasing a Storz Shockwave Therapy Machine, please visit: shockwavecanada.com.