Hye Chang Rhim, Joanne Borg-Stein, Steven Sampson, and Adam S. Tenforde

Published in: Healthcare, 2023 https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11071006

  • Treatment methods that are able to give patients positive results within 3 months of injury are ideal for in-season athletes. The authors suggest that shockwave therapy may be one such method to quickly address sport-related muscle aches and pains and get athletes back in the game.
  • Shockwave therapy uses the energy of sound waves to elicit biological effects at the cellular level which can then stimulate biochemical pathways involved in functions such as tissue repair and pain reduction.
  • There are two types of shockwave therapy: Focus Shockwave Therapy and Radial Shockwave Therapy. With radial shockwave, the sound waves flow in an outward pattern and the energy stays closer to the surface. With focus shockwave, the sound waves converge allowing the energy to penetrate deeper into the body.
  • There is a body of clinical evidence that demonstrates shockwave therapy can help to effectively treat sport-related musculoskeletal conditions such as plantar fasciitis, medial tibial stress syndrome, Achilles tendinopathy, and hamstring tendinopathy.
  • Invasive therapies such as corticosteroid and platelet-rich plasma injections have also had positive results in treating athletes. However, these treatments can be linked to complications like infection and bleeding and tend to require long recovery times. Shockwave therapy, however, has a good safety profile, and athletes, depending on the condition, may be able to continue activity as tolerated.
  • Based on current evidence in the field, the authors conclude that shockwave therapy may be used as part of the physical therapy program to help facilitate athletes returning to sport and keeping athletes from being sidelined for the season.