Shockwave therapies in soft tissue conditions
Focused extracorporeal shockwave therapy (F-ESWT) is a common treatment for musculoskeletal injuries but the evidence is not clear on its benefits. It is a focused pulse of pressure over an area of 2-8mm, lasts a microsecond and can be high (>0.12 mJ/mm²) or low intensity (
The author searched PubMed and Medline for all papers published on this topic from 1980-2012. The main outcome measure evaluated was patients’ pain at 12 weeks. Out of 130 articles, 26 met inclusion criteria.
Good evidence was found for the benefit of high dose F-ESWT in treating chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis and in reducing pain and improving shoulder function for patients with chronic calcific rotator cuff (RC) tendinopathy. There was some evidence for using high dose F-ESWT in mid-portion and insertional Achilles tendinopathy and using RPT in calcific RC tendinopathy. There is mixed evidence for using low dose F-ESWT in lateral epicondylitis while no benefit of ESWT for non-calcific RC tendinosis.
> From: Speed, Br J Sports Med 48 (2014) 1538-1542. All rights reserved to BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. Click here for the Pubmed summary.
