Did you know that 50 million people in the United States alone suffer from some type of chronic pain? Chronic pain is often caused by conditions that cannot be cured, and the result is that people who have chronic pain cannot live their lives to the fullest.
However, thanks to advancements in medical technology, there are now more options to treat those who suffer from various types of pain.
One option for treating physical pain is low-intensity shockwave therapy. When it comes to understanding low-intensity shockwave therapy, there is a lot to take in, especially if you’ve never heard of this therapy before. Fortunately, this low-intensity shockwave therapy guide will teach you everything you need to know.
To start, let’s explore how this therapy works and how it can affect the body.
What Is Low-Intensity Shockwave Therapy?
Low-intensity shockwave therapy (LiSWT) is noninvasive and involves the use of acoustic waves on the body. Its use was originally to treat injuries such as torn tendons, ligaments, and broken bones. Many health professionals may still use this therapy for that purpose, but recently it has been discovered that LiSWT may have other uses throughout the body as well.
For example, instead of only treating injuries, low-intensity shockwave therapy may be able to soothe pain in the body. More recently, some studies have shown that this therapy may be able to improve the symptoms of erectile dysfunction as well. You may be wondering how simple acoustic waves would be able to be beneficial to any of these ailments.
To understand this, we will first need to take a closer look at how low-intensity shockwave therapy works in the first place. A healthcare professional can administer LiSWT with a wand-like device. This is the device that functions to emit acoustic waves.
The healthcare professional will then place the end of the wand on a certain part of your body as the wand emits low-intensity shockwaves. You can choose to have the wand placed on any part of your body that is uncomfortable such as your knees, legs, arms, back, and so on. LiSWT may also be used to speed along the process of wound healing.
As the acoustic waves hit your body, they will promote blood flow in the area. By improving the blood flow in the area, the blood vessels in that area will start to strengthen. This is important because adequate blood flow is needed for delivering nutrients and for keeping cells healthy.
The Details of Low-Intensity Shockwave Therapy
If this therapy sounds like a good idea for you, you may be wondering if there are any low-intensity shockwave therapy tips you should know about before you try it. Fortunately, because this therapy is non-invasive and completely painless, there’s not a lot of need for preparation or tips beforehand.
One of the biggest benefits of low-intensity shockwave therapy is that there is no downtime. This is unlike other options for treating chronic pain such as surgery. As soon as your therapy is over, you can go straight back to work, school, or whatever responsibilities you may have to handle for the day.
Another important benefit is that each session of this therapy doesn’t usually last more than 5 minutes. However, you may be wondering how many treatments you might need before you start to notice big improvements in your pain. The answer depends on what kind of pain you have and how severe it is, but most people tend to notice a difference after a few treatments.
While low-intensity shockwave therapy does not aim to completely eliminate pain, it does aim to significantly reduce it. When you first start trying out this therapy, to get the best results, you should receive a session about once every week. Again, the number of treatments you might need will depend on your pain and how it responds to this therapy.
Everyone’s pain is different, but most people tend to notice that their pain is less severe as they undergo more low-intensity shockwave therapy sessions. In painful areas such as your joints, you may even notice increased mobility due to the increased blood flow in the area.
Is Low-Intensity Shockwave Therapy Right for Everyone?
A common misconception that people have is that low-intensity shockwave therapy is only for those with chronic pain. However, this is not always the case.
If you have any kind of persisting pain that is bothering you, this therapy may be able to help. For example, many people have back pain these days because they have an office job that requires them to sit for hours at a desk.
This is also the case for people who work at home. You might also experience pain from too much physical labor such as lifting too many heavy items or playing sports too intensely. Whatever the cause of your pain might be, low-intensity shockwaves might be able to help.
A lot of pain in the body begins because of inadequate blood flow. Since shockwave therapy can improve blood flow in whatever part of the body you want, this therapy can help soothe your pain by providing damaged or inflamed cells with plenty of blood. More than that, once you get your pain treated with shockwave therapy, the pain-reducing effects tend to last a long time.
Everything You Need to Know About Low-Intensity Shockwave Therapy
By the end of this article, you should know all the details of low-intensity shockwave therapy.
From treating wounds to chronic pain, this noninvasive therapy can do a lot when it comes to helping you live a normal and pain-free life. To learn more, contact us here.