Electrohydraulic Shockwaves Have Been Used For Over 40 Years In Medicine.
Electrohydraulic Shockwaves have been used for over 40 years in medicine. The original Shockwave device was developed for disintegrating kidney stones by a German company called Dornier Medical. The original machines used in Shockwave Lithotripsy cost about 2.5 million dollars. Lithotripsy has remained the gold standard for breaking up kidney stones since about 1980. Lithotripsy is extra caporal, meaning outside the body. Patients usually have anesthesia during a Lithotripsy procedure but wake up stone free over 80% of the time. The side effects with Lithotripsy are for the most part mild and less than 1%.
The next frontier for the use of Electrohydrolic shockwaves came in 1988 when a trauma surgeon in Austria discovered by accident that the use of a slightly lesser powered device for the treatment of delayed non union bone fractures was very effective. Most orthopedic and trauma surgeons in Germany, Austria and throughout Europe perform extracorporeal shockwave therapy for delayed non-union bone fractures before any type of surgery. Clinical studies indicate that Electrohydrolic This technology has not been approved by the FDA but should be coming soon!
At the beginning of the 1990’s smaller Shockwave Devices were developed and the term low intensity Shockwave started to evolve for soft tissue injuries such as Tendinopathy’s or acute Pain or soreness in your shoulders elbows knees feet etc.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy ESWT has been used for Plantar fasciitis since the mid 90s ( nine clinical studies from peer reviewed journals showing a positive outcome over 80% of the time using Low intensity Shockwave )
Low intensity Shockwave has been used in sexual medicine for over 10 years in the United States and around the world. True low intensity Shockwaves improve blood flow, create angiogenesis or new blood vessels, heals scarring and also disintegrates plaque buildup in the vessels. LiSW has helped thousands of men regain their confidence and improve their love life without the need for pills! Women’s sexual health applications are growing to include pelvic pain and improved or overall sexual health.
Not all shockwave devices are the same: that’s why it’s very important for the consumer to ask questions about the device that your provider intends to use for the procedure. There is only one unfocused Shockwave device on the market right now that is actually a true Shockwave. The device is manufactured by a German company named MTS. The US distributor for MTS products is Softwave, Tissue a Regeneration Technologies. The Orthogold delivers a deep and wide penetration of electro hydraulic sound waves. This gives the provider a large treatment zone and enough depth to reach a man’s bladder.
Do Your Research!! Do Not Pay More For Inferior Technology!!
The Softwave device is an excellent technology and has an outstanding record of clinical success. There are a few focused Shockwave devices with some promise but they have very small treatment zones and may cause more discomfort and irritation due to the small treatment zone.
There are a lot of Radial devices on the market that call themselves Shockwave! So buyer beware! A radial sound wave is a rapid fire sound wave created by two metal mallets hitting each other – a cylinder within a cylinder. The mechanical pounding creates a sound wave that is only about 6 to 8 mm in depth. So it requires a lot of pulses – at least twice the amount of time to do a procedure as a True Unfocused Shockwave device. The radial devices create a substantial amount of discomfort and pain and typically require the provider to use numbing gel and have the patient sit in a room for 10 to 15 minutes to be, sufficiently “numb” in the area of treatment.
Apollo Wave‘s founder Tim Blanc has 20 years of experience in lithotripsy and other uses of shockwave technology. Apollo Wave’s intention is to invest in the best technology we can find for our patients to maximize healing benefits and minimize discomfort.