At Impact Physical Therapy Wellness and Performance, we believe in innovation and are dedicated to offering our patients the latest and most advanced evidence-based treatment options for the musculoskeletal system. As part of this dedication, we proudly offer Radial Shock Wave (RSW) aka EPAT (Extracorpeal Pulse Activation Technology) and FSW (Focused Shock Wave); the most advanced non-invasive treatment option for a broad range of orthopedic injuries and conditions for the purpose of accelerated tissue healing and regeneration.

We proudly offer these non-invasive treatment technologies from STORZ Medical-based in Switzerland and CURAMEDIX - distributor of Storz products in the USA-to provide relief for patients who are suffering from acute or chronic pain, soft tissue injuries, or another type of injury or condition of the musculoskeletal system.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy, or ESWT, comes in a variety of different forms and energy delivery.

Extracorporeal stands for "outside of the body." This technology allows us to deliver a controlled energy over a general area or a very specific location into the body from the outside WITHOUT any needle, incision or injection.

This allows us to target the injured or dysfunctional area to encourage YOUR BODY to do the work by stimulating a cascade of physiologic effects at the cell level that enhances growth factor migration and your bodies natural stem cells to activate and regenerate the problematic tissue or area.

It is the most state of the art, non-invasive regenerative technology that is currently available in the world; with Storz Medical being the pioneer and global leader in shockwave and regenerative technologies.  

Two of the most common and evidence based Shock Waves are RSW (Radial Shock Wave) aka EPAT (Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Technology) and FSW (Focused Shock Wave).

Combined together, these two technologies are a POWERHOUSE and absolute GAME CHANGER in the treatment MSK (Musculoskeletal) disorders--both acute and chronic. 

Shock Wave Therapy is the most advanced and highly effective non-invasive treatment method cleared by the FDA. It is an evidence-based technology platform that utilizes a unique set of proprietary acoustic or electromagnetic energy waves to stimulate the metabolism, enhance blood circulation, and accelerate the healing process. Growth Factor migration takes place and your bodies natural stem cells are activated--damaged tissue gradually regenerates and eventually heals.

ESWT is proven to help a variety of conditions and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, both acute and chronic. There is an ever growing field of evidence and use applications not only in the field of orthopedics, but also Aesthetics, Urology, Cardiology, Dermatology, Neurology and Veterinary Medicine.

It is proven to have around 90% success rate on almost basically any type of strain, sprain, ache or pain or dysfunction involving the musculoskeletal system-including the treatment of non-union fractures and Bone Marrow Lesions (BMLs)/Bone Edema.

By including ESWT into your treatment plan, you are likely to see in accelerated reduction in pain and dysfunction as well as, in some cases, a 40-50% accelerated enhancement in healing meaning less down time and a faster recovery for you-getting you back to the things you love-FASTER!

It has shown great promise in reducing recovery time with athletic injuries-allowing the athlete to miss less time on the filed or court of play, and get back sooner than previously ever imagined.

In our clinic, we have seen severe ankle injuries get better and back to sport within 2-3 weeks from what otherwise should have been a 5-6 week recovery time and rehab process. 

Not only have we seen improvements with faster reductions of pain (in some cases an immediate abolishment of pain), but also accelerated strength gains, allowing us to better target and treat weak areas to accelerate your full recovery and get stronger-faster!

Common Conditions Treated:

An alternative to traditional treatment methods, such as surgery, ESWT improves the regenerative potential instead of further damaging an area that has degenerated due to poor blood flow, weakness, or a tissue or overuse injury. ESWT has a proven success rate that is equal to or greater than that of the traditional treatment methods, but it doesn't have the risks, complications, or lengthy recovery times that are associated with those methods.

When ESWT is performed by a qualified healthcare professional, like one of our physical therapy clinicians, it provides patients experiencing acute or chronic musculoskeletal pain with a multitude of benefits.

Those who receive ESWT in combination with other treatment techniques such as EMTT and exercises in physical therapy see even better and faster results.

In addition to providing pain relief or pain reduction, ESWT does the following:

ESWT is an FDA-cleared technology that when performed by a qualified healthcare professional, such as one of our physical therapy clinicians, has virtually no side effects or risks, including no risk of infection or scarring. This technology has undergone extensive clinical studies and tests to confirm its safety and efficacy and is currently used all around the world.

Application of ESWT is quick and usually only takes up to 5-10 minutes. However, the length can vary depending on what injury or condition of the musculoskeletal system is being treated.

During the treatment process, one of our clinicians will apply a coupling gel to the skin of the area being treated. After the gel is applied, a handheld applicator will be used to release RSW/EPAT pressure waves over the area of pain and surrounding tissues.
FSW (if available) will then be delivered to the specific pain point to deliver higher energy to more effectively stimulate the regenerative capability of your tissues. 

The pulses will slowly increase until the desired tolerated energy level is reached. EPAT does not require anesthesia and is generally well-tolerated.

After the session, patients are able to bear weight immediately as well as return to their normal activities with really no downtime.

Patients will typically have ESWT applied for 3 to 6 treatment sessions 1x per week, but could be more or less depending on their injury or condition. The long term beneficial effects of ESWT are often experienced after three treatments. However, it can vary between patients. Some patients may experience immediate pain relief while others may take up to four weeks to begin to feel relief.

ESWT is designed to treat a wide variety of conditions. Over 80% of patients treated with ESWT report to be pain-free or have significant pain reduction. ESWT is very effective for treating those who are suffering from chronic or acute pain as well as effective in treating athletes and sports injuries.