Many clinicians are faced with the challenge of having conditions which are hard to treat with conventional methods. Bryan Kelly, from CK Physiotherapy, has been using the Piezowave2 Focused Shockwave device to treat the more complex injuries such as calcific tendinitis and plantar fasciitis.
What patients do you typically see?
"Mainly musculoskeletal patients, sport injuries, muscle pain, back pain and tendon problems. There are some problems that are difficult to treat with our other treatments, such as ultrasound, acupuncture, soft tissue massage and joint mobilisation techniques. I would use this for the more difficult conditions we get such as calcific tendinitis and plantar fasciitis as examples."
What results have you seen?
"I've been really pleased with some of the results, even after one or two treatments. The improvement that people have had in immediate pain relief and increase in range of movement."
The difference between radial and focused shockwave
"Initially I thought radially and focused were exactly the same. After investigating a little bit more, radial isn't a true shockwave unlike focused. A lot of the research out there is on focused rather than radial shockwave, and focused is better for the deeper tendon conditions and not just myofascial."
What have you treated?
"I've currently been treating a patient who has calcified tendinitis in the shoulder. We've done three sessions and the results have been remarkable and now she's back at the gym pain free. I've also found that I've been working on areas that I wouldn't necessarily go to, when doing manual therapy, that have been reproducing some of the symptoms. There's only a little discomfort when we've been doing the treatment... and when they see the improvement with their range of movement and pain they are happy to continue."
"The PiezoWave is a treatment modality that isn't offered in many clinics. Given the research that's coming out with how effective it can be, it's useful for me to be able to offer this treatment to my patients. As a treatment modality it's something that is more of an expensive charge, but with the results the patients are seeing and less sessions being required, they are happy to pay the extra."
If you're interested in implementing Focused Shockwave into your practice then please get in touch.
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