Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) was first introduced into clinical practice in 1982 for the non-invasive treatment of kidney stones, via a process referred to as “lithotripsy” which applies a high intensity focused sound wave to the kidney stone to help break it up. The success of these procedures provided the basis for therapeutic ESWT treatments which can be used to treat various soft tissue dysfunctions as well as upper and lower extremity tendinopathies. 1 Therapeutic shockwave devices impart energy levels (Energy Flux Density) that are significantly lower than lithotripsy devices, but are 1000 x more powerful than standard therapeutic ultrasound waves. 2 The two therapeutic ESWT categories which Chattanooga carries include the Focused Shock Wave (FSW) and Radial Pressure Wave (RPW) units. While they produce different waveforms (see below) and have different penetration abilities, they both can impart energy to various tissue types. 1 WHAT IS EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCKWAVE THERAPY (ESWT)?
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