ESWT
ESWT

Extracorporeal Shockwave Treatment

There are two types of shockwave technologies available today: high-energy hospital units and low-energy in-office machines. Low-energy units have been approved by the FDA since 2007 and are showing increased utilization and clinical effectiveness in office settings across the United States. Shockwaves are acoustic sound waves, much like what we hear and sometimes feel depending on the volume and pitch. The first shockwave machine was developed in 1949 and has been refined into the current day modalities that we have available today. 

Foot Doctor in Odessa, TX

Low-energy, radial shockwave devices allow for what is called patient-focused treatment and do show equivalent efficacy when compared to high-energy devices. Because the patients are awake and not anesthetized (unless they are having concurrent growth factor treatment and partial fasciectomy), they can direct the physician to put the focus of the shockwave on the place that hurts them the most. This allows for biofeedback, which has shown to increase effectiveness. Patients will experience some discomfort during treatment, but it is usually tolerable. Normally, the area under treatment becomes partially anesthetized after a few hundred shocks (usually 2,000 shocks are administered at a frequency of about 15 per second). West Texas Foot and Ankle Centers was one of the first centers in the United States to have the low-energy technology available. 
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