Did you know that around 52% of men in the United States alone suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) to some degree? ED can be frustrating for a variety of reasons, and sometimes, it can even lower a man’s self-esteem. While there are many traditional ways to help this problem, such as with medication, medication often comes with a variety of side effects that make it unpleasant or impossible to take the pills in the first place.
Fortunately, shockwave therapy is a great alternative ED treatment. But what is shockwave therapy exactly, and how can it help your ED problems? It mainly has to do with your individual ED problems and what might be causing your ED in the first place.
Most importantly, how much does shockwave therapy cost? Keep reading and find the answers to your questions below.
What You Need To Know About Erectile Dysfunction
While ED can happen to men at any age, it is most common in older men. This is because older men are more likely to have health problems that may negatively impact their ability to get an erection. Erectile dysfunction can be caused by a variety of factors, but it always has something to do with blood flow.
An erection is only possible when enough blood flows into the penis. When this happens, the tissues in the penis, the corpus spongiosum and the corpus cavernosum, will become engorged with blood. This happens because these tissues are very spongy and can absorb blood easily.
Once enough blood flows into the penis, it will become erect and hard enough for sex. This is only possible once the tissues in the penis lock the blood into the penile tissues. This is important because if this doesn’t happen, the blood will flow right back out of the penis and the erection will be lost.
Often, older men have health conditions that affect their flow of blood in some way. For example, diabetes and heart disease can both impact the body’s blood flow in a negative way. If blood has a hard time circulating throughout your entire body, it only makes sense that it would have a difficult time providing enough blood to the penis as well.
The Details
In some cases, ED is only an occasional problem and it tends to go away on its own. For others, it is a chronic problem that can make it nearly impossible for a person to have sex. There are also a few other causes of ED such as obesity.
Obesity often correlates with diabetes but even if it doesn’t, it can still put undue strain on your blood vessels and make it difficult for blood to flow to certain parts of your body. Damage to the penis can also make it difficult to get an erection.
This is because the blood vessels in the area may be damaged to such an extent that it may be very difficult for enough blood to flow to the area to create an erection. Fortunately, despite all these different potential causes of ED, shockwave therapy should be able to help with most of them.
What Is Shockwave Therapy for ED?
Shockwave therapy is a relatively new therapy for treating erectile dysfunction. Originally, its purpose was quite different since it was used to help people recover from injuries such as broken bones or damaged muscles and skin. Even though it is still relatively new, more and more men are starting to opt for this kind of therapy because it offers such promising results.
But how does it compare to ED medication? While ED medication like Viagra can be very helpful to some people, it may not be a feasible option for others. This is because the medication may cause unpleasant side effects in some people such as sweating, redness, nausea, dizziness, and so on.
Some people may even be allergic to ED medication. Whatever the case, you will find that there are far fewer risks of side effects with shockwave therapy. But what is this therapy exactly and how can it help your symptoms of ED?
The therapy is relatively simple and can either be done in a medical office or in the comfort of your home. If you decide to do this therapy at home, you can buy your very own shockwave therapy device that you can use with ease. If you prefer to go to an office, a medical professional will do the procedure for you.
Both options provide more or less the same results. The main device that is used is a wand that emits ultrasound waves. When these waves are directed toward the penis, the waves will stimulate the cells, especially the blood cells, in the area.
What You Need to Know
This is very important because, as mentioned before, blood flow is everything when it comes to getting an erection. If there is something wrong with the blood vessels in the penis, it will be next to impossible to get an erection. The ultrasound waves not only can help repair broken blood vessels but can also grow new blood vessels in the area.
It can also stimulate the flow of blood to the area. Keep in mind that the energy waves used in the procedure are low-frequency. For that reason, you shouldn’t feel any discomfort or pain when going through this process. You may feel a slight tingling in the area, but nothing more serious than that.
Each session is relatively fast, usually around 15 minutes. There is also no downtime involved. So, you’ll be able to go right back to work or tend to other duties if you need to right after the procedures.
After several sessions, you should start to notice an improvement in your ED symptoms. One treatment is not enough since the penis needs more consistent stimulation with the shockwaves. After a few weeks or months, most men find it much easier to get an erection than before.
The results are not permanent, but occasional sessions should prolong the effects of this therapy.
How Much Does Shockwave Therapy Cost?
If shockwave therapy sounds like a good option for you, you might be wondering how much the therapy costs. The price of the therapy will depend on a variety of factors. In particular, it depends on whether you decide to go to a clinic or do the therapy at home.
If you decide to go to a clinic to get this therapy done, you can expect to pay around $400 or $500 for each session. The exact price will depend on your location as well as the length of each session. Keep in mind that you will need to go through several sessions before you start to benefit from the effects of the shockwaves.
Usually, 6 sessions is the ideal number for most men suffering from ED. Also, after you finish your sessions, you may have to go for the occasional maintenance session over the years to make sure that you maintain the results of the therapy. Overall, this will amount to a few thousand dollars.
What to Know
While this is expensive, especially compared to medication, you have to remember that shockwave therapy aims to treat the problem at its source. Medication only aims to mask the cause of the problem so that a man can achieve an erection only in a small window of time.
Shockwave therapy is designed to improve the flow of blood to the penis so that a man can naturally achieve an erection without having to wait for a pill to kick in. Doing shockwave therapy at home is a bit cheaper since you won’t have to pay per session, but you will still need to pay for the shockwave therapy device.
Such a device is usually several hundred dollars, if not close to a thousand. Besides that, you will need to learn how to use the device on your own if you decide to do the therapy at home. Whatever the case, the choice is up to you.
Once you start going through shockwave therapy, you will surely start to see the benefits it has to offer.
All about Shockwave Therapy for ED
Shockwave therapy is a relatively new therapy for ED, but so far, it has demonstrated itself to be very effective. It uses ultrasound waves to target the blood vessels in the penis so that the penis is able to receive better blood flow. The cost of this therapy will depend on a variety of factors, but it tends to cost several hundred dollars.
To learn more about shockwave therapy and how it works, click here.