Shock­wave The­rapy ESWT Vienna

Shock­wave the­rapy is used for a va­riety of or­tho­pe­dic con­di­ti­ons. It is par­ti­cu­larly com­mon for cal­ci­fic shoulder, heel spur, Achil­les ten­do­ni­tis, ten­nis el­bow, gol­fer’s el­bow, pa­tel­lar ten­don ir­ri­ta­tion (jum­per’s knee), as well as chro­nic mus­cle ten­sion and trig­ger points. ESWT also shows good re­sults in po­orly he­al­ing bone frac­tures (pseud­arthro­ses) or bur­si­tis in the hip area.

In shock­wave the­rapy, high-en­ergy me­cha­ni­cal wa­ves are spe­ci­fi­cally di­rec­ted into the pain­ful tis­sue. These sti­mu­late bio­lo­gi­cal he­al­ing pro­ces­ses by pro­mo­ting blood cir­cu­la­tion, ac­ti­vat­ing cell me­ta­bo­lism, and re­du­cing in­flamm­a­tory pro­ces­ses. De­pen­ding on the cli­ni­cal pic­ture, fo­cu­sed or ra­dial shock­wa­ves are used.

Ty­pi­cally, a com­plete course of tre­at­ment com­pri­ses 3 to 5 ses­si­ons at ap­pro­xi­m­ately weekly in­ter­vals. The exact num­ber de­pends on the in­di­vi­dual cli­ni­cal pic­ture, the course of the con­di­tion, and the re­sponse to the­rapy. Some pa­ti­ents ex­pe­ri­ence si­gni­fi­cant re­lief af­ter just the first or se­cond application.

The in­ten­sity of the tre­at­ment can be in­di­vi­du­ally ad­jus­ted. Ty­pi­cally, a pres­sure sen­sa­tion is per­cei­ved, which is ge­ne­rally well-to­le­ra­ted. In very sen­si­tive areas or with more se­vere in­flamm­a­tion, there may be a tem­po­rary in­crease in sen­si­ti­vity, but this quickly subsides.

Ex­tra­cor­po­real shock­wave the­rapy (ESWT) is con­side­red a pri­vate me­di­cal ser­vice. Sta­tu­tory he­alth insu­rance pro­vi­ders ge­ne­rally do not co­ver the costs. Ho­we­ver, many pri­vate sup­ple­men­tary insu­rance po­li­cies reim­burse part or all of the tre­at­ment – it is ad­vi­sa­ble to con­sult with your re­spec­tive insu­rance provider.

ESWT is a non-in­va­sive form of the­rapy that does not re­quire me­di­ca­tion or sur­gery. It is par­ti­cu­larly sui­ta­ble for trea­ting chro­nic con­di­ti­ons where con­ser­va­tive me­thods are in­suf­fi­ci­ent. Its high ef­fi­cacy, low side ef­fect rate, and quick re­turn to daily life make it an at­trac­tive op­tion in mo­dern pain therapy.

Yes, shock­wave the­rapy can be very ef­fec­tively com­bi­ned with other con­ser­va­tive me­a­su­res. It is of­ten ap­plied in con­junc­tion with phy­sio­the­rapy, stret­ching exer­ci­ses, in­fil­tra­tion the­rapy, or ma­nual the­rapy me­a­su­res. This com­bi­na­tion can ac­ce­le­rate he­al­ing pro­ces­ses and achieve more sus­tainable results.

Many pa­ti­ents re­port a no­ti­ceable and las­ting im­pro­ve­ment in their sym­ptoms – of­ten for months or even ye­ars. Par­ti­cu­larly in chro­nic pain syn­dro­mes such as heel spur or ten­nis el­bow, shock­wave the­rapy is ef­fec­tive even when other con­ser­va­tive me­a­su­res have had little suc­cess. A pre­re­qui­site is a tar­ge­ted in­di­ca­tion and re­gu­lar follow-up.