You don’t have to live with pain! With conventional treatments like RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevate), cortisone, and surgery, it often feels like you’re on a repetitive cycle of pain, temporary relief, pain. All the while unable to do the activities you love. There’s a better way.

EPAT, sometimes referred to as ESWT or Shock Wave, is an evidence-based treatment that gets to the root of your pain, facilitating healing and accelerating your recovery. EPAT improves your body’s regenerative potential, rather than further damaging an area that has degenerated because of poor blood flow, tissue injury, overuse or weakness.

Peak Performance Sports Therapy is now offering both Radial Pressure Wave (EPAT) therapy (commonly referred to as Radial Shock Wave therapy) and Focused Shock Wave (ESWT) therapy.

What are Shock Waves?

Shock waves are acoustic pulses or sound waves. They can occur in the atmosphere during explosive events, for example during detonations or lightning strikes, or when airplanes break through the sound barrier. Shock waves are acoustic pulses characterized by a sudden and drastic change in pressure compared to the immediate surrounding pressure. These acoustic waves can travel some distance and when in the air can, for example, cause window panes to shatter a short distance away from an explosion.

Shock waves were first used on a human patient in early 1980 for the fragmentation of a kidney stone. The first successful stone fragmentation in a human body was performed by Professor Christian Chaussy, M.D., in Munich in February 1980. In the years since, the level of clinical evidence supporting the use of shock waves has significantly increased across a growing number of medical disciplines and applications with more than six million patients treated annually and growing. (1, 2, 3)

What types of Muscle Pain or Chronic Pain can be addressed with Shock Wave therapy?

Shock Wave therapy is now being utilized for acute or chronic musculoskeletal pain and/or pain that significantly impairs mobility or quality of life including:

• Foot and heel pain

• Achilles pain

• Tendon and/or tendon insertion pain

• Neuromas

• Trigger points

Why should I Choose Shock Wave versus a traditional therapy?

EPAT® or Shock Wave has a proven success rate that is equal to or greater than that of traditional treatment methods (including surgery) and without the risks, complications and lengthy recovery time.

• Performed in your physician’s office/clinic
• Does not require anesthesia
• Requires a minimal amount of time

Patients can:

• Bear weight (i.e. walk) immediately
• Return to work/normal activities within 24-48 hours
• Resume strenuous activities after 4 weeks

What are Focused Shock Waves vs. Radial Pressure Waves?

Focused Shock Waves and Radial Pressure Waves both produce healing powers in muscle tissue but differ in terms of how deep and wide the waves penetrate.
Radial Shock Waves lose energy as they travel, making them ideally suited to treat areas that are closer to the skin like hands, fingers, toes, and parts of the knee for example. Focused Shock Waves allow for deeper penetration – up to 12cm – with reduced impact on surrounding tissues thus being ideal for thicker areas like shoulders, glutes, thighs, and heels for example. Some conditions can be addressed with a combination of both Radial and Focused Shock Wave therapies.

Radial pressure waves are ideal for the treatment of superficial pain. In the treatment of myofascial pain syndromes, radial pressure waves are indispensable for smoothing muscles and/ or fascia before or after focused shock wave application. Local painful spots, chronic pain related to tendons, ligaments or joints and deep trigger points are ideally treated with focused shock waves.(4) Radial shock waves are preferably used in the treatment of trigger points, wound healing and aesthetic indications.(5)
Both Radial and Focused Shockwave Therapies activate the healing power of enhanced blood flow, and promote tissue regeneration.

What is it like to Experience Shock Wave Treatment?

The Shockwave Therapy is transmitted by the clinician through a handpiece, is performed directly on the skin, and is non-evasive. Coupling gel is applied to the treatment area and the

applicator transfers the pressure waves to the treatment by moving over the area in a circular motion. Most patients report feeling a slight tingling sensation during the treatment.
Shockwave Therapy normally consists of 1 – 6 treatments lasting about 5 minutes each. The majority of patients who use shock wave therapy treatment have reported successful results, including a decrease in chronic pain, increase in mobility, and other health improvements.

Where can I get Shock Wave Treatments in Cincinnati?

At Peak Performance Sports Therapy, we offer both Radial Shock Wave and Focused Shock Wave Treatment. Our treatment devices are provided by CuraMedix–an emerging leader in the medical technology field focused on regenerative medicine and non-surgical healing solutions, with a combination of healing solutions that work in tandem with one another. Radial Shock Wave Therapy is provided through our Curamedix OrthoPulse Ultra 100. Focused Shock Wave Therapy is provided through our Curamedix CelluPulse Ultra 100.

1 Wess, O.: Physikalische Grundlagen der extrakorporalen Stosswellentherapie, Journal für Mineralstoffwechsel. 4: 7, 2004.
2 Chaussy, C.; Schmiedt, E.; Brendel, W.: Extracorporeally induced destruction of kidney stones by shock waves. Lancet 2: 1265, 1980.
3 Chaussy, C.; Schmiedt, E.; Jocham, D.; Brendel, W.; Forssmann, B.; Walther, V.: First clinical experiences with extracorporeally induced destruction of kidney stones by shock waves. J. Urol.127: 417, 1982.29. Auersperg, V.; Buch, M.; Dorfmüller, C.; Gerdesmeyer, L.; Gleitz, M.; Hausdorf, J.; Kuderna, H.; Maier, M.; Neuland, H.; Rädel, R.; Rompe, D.; Schaden, W.; Siebert, W.; Thiele, R.; Thiele, S.; Waubke, A.M.; Wille, G.,: DIGEST-Leitlinien zur Extrakorporale Stoßwellentherapie; www.digest-ev.de. 2012.
4 Gleitz, M.: Die Bedeutung der Trigger-Stoßwellentherapie in der Behandlung pseudoradikulärer Cervicobrachialgien. Abstracts 53. Jahrestagung der Vereinigung Süddeutscher Orthopäden e.V. April 2005; Nr. 32 8.
5 Christ, C.; Brenke, R.; Sattler, G.; Siems, W.; Novak, P.; Daser, A.: Improvement in skin elasticity in the treatment of cellulite and connective tissue weakness by means of extracorporal pulse activation therapy, Aesthetic Surg J. 2008; 5: 538–544.

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Schedule an Appointment

If you are looking for Shock Wave Therapy, please schedule an appointment with us through our online booking system. Our goal is to see clients for an initial visit as soon as possible, so we can get started on your treatment plan right away.