SoftWave Therapy
What is a shock wave?
SoftWave Tissue Regenerative Technologies (SWTRT) otherwise known as Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (EWST) uses patented technology to reach an injured area at the cellular level to successfully turn on the body’s natural healing process.
SWTRT or (EWST), is a non-invasive treatment that involves the delivery of shock waves to an injured area to promote healing. This treatment produces highly effective shock waves that initiate biological regeneration processes at the cellular level.
Treatment involves technology that applies short, frequent, and high intensity bursts of mechanical energy (in the form of a shockwave) into soft-tissue that is injured, scarred, painful, inflamed, or contains adhesions.
What is a shock wave?
Shock waves are found in nature and surround everyday life. They are generated by supersonic aircraft, explosions, lightning, earthquakes or other phenomena that create violent changes in pressure. Shock waves differ from sound waves in that the wavefront, in which compression takes place, is a region of sudden and violent change in stress, density, and temperature. Shock waves travel faster than sound and their speed increases as the amplitudes are raised.
Below is an example of a shock wave in nature. The pistol shrimp use their shockwaves to protect their mates. Watch how its claw opens and shuts to fire off a powerful water jet at speeds up to 30 meters per second (67 mph). Note, the high-speed water isn’t what harms its target – it’s the resulting shock wave.
Researchers have measured its sound. At a volume of about 200 decibels, it’s louder than a .22 caliber rifle shot. The pistol shrimp pops are some of the loudest in the ocean, second only to sperm whale clicks.
Treatment using Softwave Therapy
Change at the cellular level to initiate healing
When patients suffer from acute injuries like burns, trauma, and surgical procedures, they can be dramatically impacted both physically and emotionally. Reduction or minimizing noticeable scars is and always will be a goal for every plastic surgeon. If the location of the scar can’t be hidden, then the reduction and prevention of the defect becomes more challenging. Any technology that can safely affect the outcome in a positive way should be considered.
Scar tissue is formed when normal, healthy tissue is destroyed by injuries, diseases, surgeries, or infections. After an injury, the body’s primary goal is to close the wound to prevent infection. When the body tries to heal, it quickly makes a very tough material called collagen, which causes normal, healthy tissue to become fibrous and tough. Scar tissue is unique as it can be formed both on the surface of the skin,within internal organs and does not function as normal tissue would. Scar tissue typically does not have sweat glands, hair follicles, or blood vessels. This lack of blood vessels causes a lack of circulation throughout scar tissue which makes the tissue difficult to heal and more prone to repeat injury. Using shockwave therapy for scar tissue is a great way to prevent repeated injuries and promote a more effective healing process.
Shockwave’s ability to recruit and activate stem cells accelerates the timeline to produce original, healthy, normal tissue complete with sweat glands and hair follicles. This allows for a higher percentage of original tissue and less scar tissue.
Shockwave Therapy for Scar Tissue
SoftWave Tissue Regeneration Technologies delivers non-invasive, low intensity, acoustic shockwave that accelerates healing and has been demonstrated to reduce scars and associated complications. SoftWave promotes healing by initiating biological responses at the cellular level.
Treatment can be performed in an out-patient facility, without anesthesia, and in conjunction with other traditional wound care procedures.
Dr. John David Mullins, MD, FACS and Chair of the Piedmont Atlanta Department of Surgery in Atlanta, GA, is using SoftWave ESWT treatment for wound care and seeing results in reducing scar visibility, decrease in pain, increase in range of motion, and improvement in elasticity. Even the difficult recurrent keloids and hypertrophic scars have been improved by this therapy. There have been a multitude of topical therapies, injections, and external applications that have been tried with varying degrees of success. Softwave therapy is the first to offer a cellular response to regeneration via an external painless application with efficient broad energy.
While the technology of harnessing shockwaves isn’t new—it was first discovered in Germany and used to break up kidney stones—its application in wound healing and cell regeneration is recent. Originally studied solely for its healing power when applied to acute (surgical or accidental) and chronic (ulcers, bed sores, etc.) wounds, researchers found an unanticipated and often overlooked benefit—one that has the potential of improving the quality of life for the patient—the reduction of pain, appearance, and limited ROM associated with most scars and sites of soft tissue healing. While the initial trauma of the affected site can be healed by conservative means, ESWT has shown to not only produce the same results more quickly and efficiently, it also far surpasses other methods of subsequent scar healing resulting in less cost, little to no side effects, and more positive patient outcomes.
With the recent understanding and expanded usage of ESWT in the intentional improvement of scar size, elasticity, and pigmentation, ESWT offers a valuable tool to augment current treatments for cosmetic procedures, cesarean sections, keloid treatment, skin grafts, and reconstructive surgeries. It’s a ten-minute, easy-to-use, office-based, convenient solution that restores confidence and offers patients a way to live their best life.
Additionally, in a recent study published by Pubmed in July 2022, researchers examined the effects of ESWT on hypertrophic scars using a set of Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scales (POSAS) to measure the results. They found that most of the POSAS subscales and total scores were significantly improved 4 weeks after treatment (with statistical significance of P < 0.05). They also noted that the subscales for the pain, itching, and pigmentation were improved and that the patients treated in the study were satisfied with their results after treatment.
Softwave Therapy for Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves). This disruption to a proper functioning system often causes weakness, numbness, pain, prickling or tingling in your feet or hands, which can spread upward into your legs and arms.
Treating neuropathy with Softwave therapy has shown to be very effective for speeding up the healing process and reducing pain more quickly than other methods.
Unlike surgery or other forms of treatment, this approach is non-invasive and targets acoustic pressure waves into the injured tissue and nerve area to improve blood circulation and stimulate the body’s own metabolic processes to accelerate healing.
Softwave Therapy for Hand Neuropathy
SWTRT is an excellent way to treat peripheral neuropathy without the side effects of medication and patients do not require any downtime between treatment sessions.
SoftWave provides physicians an additional way to heal using trusted technology. We have been using this method and can confirm that it is proven and effective. SoftWave uses shockwave therapy to treat types of tendonitis such as tennis elbow. The benefits of shockwave therapy can also help with tennis elbow recovery.
Softwave Therapy for Feet Neuropathy
SWTRT is an excellent way to treat peripheral neuropathy without the side effects of medication and patients do not require any downtime between treatment sessions.
For neuropathy in the feet, a trained technician will use the Shockwave Therapy Machine to treat the bottom of the foot (Plantar area) first, and then move up to the peripheral nerve path to encourage blood flow to the lower extremity.
