– Alleviation of musculoskeletal pain

– Improves mobility

– Non-invasive

– Reduces the need for pain medications

– Outpatient treatment

– Short therapy time of approx. 10-20 min.

– Patient-guided focused therapy

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The term A.C.T refers to piezoelectric pressure pulses that expand as a wave in the body. The pressure pulses break down scar tissue and calcifications, stimulating metabolism, enhancing blood circulation, and enabling damaged tissue to regenerate.

Acoustic Compression Therapy stimulates certain components within the body so that it is able to heal from injuries. In addition, Piezo Wave therapy is also effective in cases of chronic pain when the body has demonstrated a previous inability heal completely by itself. In addition to stimulating the healing process, shockwave therapy may have a direct effect on nerves, diminishing pain.

Many traditional therapies, such as anti-inflammatory medications, steroid injections, physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture, and so forth, can assist the body during the early, acute phase of an injury. The Piezo Wave can be an effective alternative modality to these treatments. However, traditional treatments are much less effective in assisting the body to heal when an injury becomes chronic. As an example, many patients can relate to a history where a steroid injection (like cortisone) seemed to be effective in resolving pain early in their healing process, but subsequent injections were much less effective.

The first medical treatment developed from this research was lithotripsy. This allowed focused shockwaves to essentially dissolve kidney stones without surgical intervention. Today, over 98% of all kidney stones are treated with this technology. The use of shockwaves to treat tendon related pain began in the early 1990s. A clinical shockwave/A.C.T is nothing more than a controlled explosion that creates a sonic pulse, much like an airplane breaking the sound barrier. The primary effect of a shockwave is a direct mechanical force. The exact mechanism by which shockwave therapy acts to treat tendon pathology is not known. The leading explanation is based on the inflammatory healing response. It is felt the shockwaves cause microtrauma to the diseased tendon tissue. This results in inflammation, which allows the body to send healing cells and increase the blood flow to the injured site. Shockwaves are used to treat many orthopedic conditions, including plantar fasciitis (heel spurs), patellar tendinitis (jumper’s knee), lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow), medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow) and shoulder tendinitis. Multiple studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of shockwave therapy. Many have shown a positive response versus placebo treatment and others have shown no benefit over placebo. No studies have reported any significant side effects when utilized for orthopedic conditions. Contraindications to shockwave therapy include bleeding disorders and pregnancy.

There are two main types of shockwave machines, low and high energy. High-energy treatments are administered in the operating room with regional or general anesthesia. Low-energy treatments are administered in the clinic and do not require anesthesia or injections. Dr. Harkins currently uses a low-energy machine by placing the probe on the area of greatest tenderness and the acoustic waves are delivered over 10 minutes. Occasionally, patients will relate mild transient discomfort at the treatment site. Patients are usually treated with 3-5 sessions separated by a day or up to a week. Between treatments, patients are able to perform all normal daily activities. Some patients report immediate pain relief, but the healing response usually requires 6-8 weeks. Early results are encouraging, and research continues at multiple sites around the country.