Email marc@cambridgeshockwaveclinic.co.uk
Call: 07801 249787
Reading Material - Evidence for Shockwave
This page contains academic academic titles that are supportive of the use and safety of shockwave. the evidence for both use and safety is good. The first article states that the evidence for all of the things we treat here is 1+ (very good evidence) There is a lot of evidence is for its use along with strengthening exercises. In reviewing a number of articles over the years some evidence is extremely positive and some neutral but you'd have to try hard to find one that says that shockwave makes anything worse. Bear in mind that there are very few double-blind placebo controlled trials and some of the evidence presented here is in the form of meta-analysis/literature review. As ever in musculoskeletal medicine, "treat the patient you see in front of you....."
General Evidence
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Narrative Review
Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Oct 26;11(21):2830. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11212830
Hortensia De la Corte-Rodríguez 1,2,*, Juan M Román-Belmonte 3,4, Beatriz A Rodríguez-Damiani 3,4, Aránzazu Vázquez-Sasot 3,4, Emérito Carlos Rodríguez-Merchán 5,6
Editor: Gianluigi Pasta
"There is solid evidence that supports it's use to improve pain in many MSK pathologies, such as different tendinopathies (epicondylar, trochanteric, patellar, Achilles or calcific shoulder), plantar fasciitis, axial pain (myofascial, lumbar or coccygodynia), osteoarthritis and bone lesions" (delayed union, osteonecrosis of the femoral head, Kienbock’s disease, bone marrow edema syndrome of the hip, pubis osteitis or carpal tunnel syndrome). The current literature shows that ESWT is a safe treatment, with hardly any adverse effects reported. Furthermore, it can be used alone or in conjunction with other physical therapies such as eccentric strengthening exercises or static stretching, which can enhance its therapeutic effect."
The effectiveness of extracorporeal shockwave therapy in common lower limb conditions: a systematic review including quantification of patient-rated pain reduction
British Journal of Sports MedicineMar 1 2018
Vasileios Korakakis,Rodney Whiteley,Alexander Tzavara,Nikolaos Malliaropoulos
Knee Pain (Patellar Tendinitis)
Frozen Shoulder
Nonsurgical Approach in Management of Tibialis Posterior Tendinopathy With Combined Radial Shockwave and Foot Core Exercises: A Case Series
Journal of Foot and Ankle surgery Vol 59, 5 Sept 2021 105801061
Precis: Shockwave gave 80-90% improvement in function and sporting function in 10 patients
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy as an Adjunctive Therapy for Frozen Shoulder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Zhang R, Wang Z, Liu R, et al. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2022
Precis: A review of 20 Randomised controlled trials. Shockwave improves Pain Function and Range of Motion
Evidence for the Achilles Tendon
Evidence for Tennis Elbow
Evidence for Shoulder (Rotator Cuff)
Shockwave therapy for chronic Achilles tendinopathy: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial of efficacy
Sten Rasmussen, Marianne Christensen, Iben Mathiesen & Ole Simonson
Acta Orthopaedica, 79:2, 249-256, DOI: 10.1080/17453670710015058 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1745367071001505
Efficacy of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Gaowen Yao, Jing Chen, Yanji Duan, Xiao Chen
First published: 19 March 2020 https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/2064781Digital
Precis: "The result of meta-analysis showed that pain and strength were better in the Shockwave group. Conclusion: Based on the existing clinical evidence, extracorporeal shock wave therapy can effectively relieve the pain and functional impairment (loss of grip strength) caused by tennis elbow, with better overall safety than several other methods."
Comparison of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and Traditional Physiotherapy in Rotator Cuff Calcific Tendinitis Treatment.
Duymaz T, Sindel D. Archives of rheumatology. 2019;34(3):281–7. Epub 2019/10/11. pmid:31598593; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6768789.
Precis: 43% greater improvement in shoulder function in the Shockwave group compared to usual treatment (physiotherapy)
Evidence for Plantar Fasciitis
Evidence for Hip Pain
The Effectiveness Of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy For Plantar Fasciitis: A Systematic Review And Meta-analysis
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 December 2023
Youjin Jung and
Precis: Shockwave reduces pain and improves function
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy in Greater
Trochanteric Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review
and Meta-Analysis
Arhan Datt Anand, Abhishek Goswami, Chhavi Arora Sehgal, Saurabh Sharma,
Shahid Raza, Shalini Sharma
March 2025 Muscles Ligaments and Tendons Journal Vol. 15(No.1):91-106
Precis: Shockwave gives greater Improvement in pain compared to alternative treatments