Shockwave at Therapy Expo

Well what another busy week, apologies for patients on my Thursday list as had to shoot up to the NEC to spend time with Professor Christoph Schmitz, clearly the most influential academic in Shockwave - MD Full Professor and Head, Extracorporeal Shock Wave Research Unit, Department of Neuroanatomy Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany. 

Christoph's talk was ‘Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy on the musculoskeletal system in sports medicine and evidence based medicine’. This was well received and I personally got to spend  time with Christoph and managed to bend his ear on a few of his studies.

I have to say its one of the first exhibitions that I have been where other manufacturers of Shockwave machines were present and most certainly raised my eyebrows to some unusual experiences. One practitioner mistakenly believed that he could deliver shockwaves through clothing, whereas in fact castor oil is the necessary medium to allow the transmission of energy into the soft tissues. If the 'learned' practitioners are advocating this as standard practice then it's a worry because the general public will believe the same.

A further worry is that physiotherapists and sports physicians, the people buying these machines are being hoodwinked by price . 

There are other cheaper machines with very little evidence to support what they do but they don't produce consistent energy into the soft tissues.

For what we all charge professionally, we should all be using machines that have evidence to support their product and studies in abundance. The Swiss DolorClast has unrivalled evidence from around the world and one only needs to look at Pedro.org to confirm this.

For those who are following me on LinkedIn, there have been two interesting posts this week; one on subacromial impigement and another on Osteo Arthritis of the knee. Watch this space for more info and hopefully Christoph will shoot me details on his treatment for a 3D hamstring injury for a star he has worked in one of the main international football leagues. The results were amazing and he returned to competitive sport 31 days later. That's all I can say at this stage! 

Training in Camberley

I had a really great day yesterday (14th November) training the team at Camberley Chiropractics.

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Having recently expanded their services to include Shockwave, I was asked to deliver our QuickStart training to get them up to speed and familiar with the device, the latest research and delivery best practices. The day included a general introduction to Shockwave, a scientific overview of the technology, background information on who's using shockwave, the latest research, a in-depth look at the Swiss Dolorclast method and practical use as well as some things to look out for in further developments.

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They're a really keen team under Dr James Everett, and adding ESWT to their very modern clinic which has a strong interest in sports medicine is going to be a great benefit for their patients and their business.

As ever, the EMS device was purchased based on the wealth of evidence and the machines use in many of the clinical trials. This, along with the great support of the Swiss DolorClast Academy  (which all members will be invited to join), make it the perfect choice.

Anyone close to Camberley should check out this clinic for insertional tendinopathies, osteoarthritis and sporting injuries. They have the most up-to-date and internationally recognised radial shockwave equipment. 

If you've added or are considering adding shockwave to your practice, feel free to reach out to me at paul@osteopathclinic.co.uk with any questions or to find out more about the support and training we provide. 

New Video on Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy (often called High Hamstring or Hamstring Syndrome)

Well again another busy week and fitting in another video was really challenging. I have to thank Rhea, my Pilates Teacher/ Ironman extraordinaire, my wife in the background and the ever supportive Artur who provides us with such good photos.

So what's so particular about this proximal hamstring video. Well the hamstring itself can be the cause of problems with the lower back, hip and indeed the knee. For this particular condition we see a number of athletes from the running world in particular and when not responding to treatment or even misdiagnosed, then Shockwave can be a valid solution. I've treated a number of these conditions with very successful results.

For the academics out there, check out our other Shockwave Practitioner videos and this very good paper to support this condition http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546510379324.

For those of you who have or think you may have this condition, i.e pain in the lower buttock, worsened on sitting also whilst running during acceleration / deceleration phase, check out the Hamstring Tendinopathy page here. This may be your saving grace (as in Cacchio's study).

Have a good week everyone.

New Shockwave Video on Tennis Elbow

My word what week it has been, what with the launch of this new site! Thank you all for the nice comments; it's really appreciated. Incredibly 80 more copies of my book, The Shockwave Solution, have been downloaded which is amazing! Furthermore we shot another practitioner video on Tennis Elbow last Friday with Steve Avery Six times Professional Body Builder who has many other accolades and recently won the British title. 

I'm very proud of what Steve has achieved in his field of excellence, I have looked after Steve in excess of 25 years and treated a number of his injuries during this period. Steve is only too aware of the benefits of Shockwave despite his picture for the camera.

Watch this space for more Shocking news.

Focused Shockwave Arrival

Focused Shockwave Therapy now available at Osteopathic Clinic, Croydon

Yes, you read that right. 

We’re delighted to announce that the Osteopathic Clinic, Croydon has introduced a second Shockwave therapy treatment at the practice.

As our long time patients will know, for the past 13 years we’ve used the radial non-invasive form of treatment to help alleviate very painful conditions in patients including tennis elbow, policeman’s heel, also known as plantar fasciitis, osteoarthritis in the knee as well as shoulder tendonitis.

The clinically proven and NICE appraised technique sends shockwaves to problematic areas and works by reinjuring tendons and tissues, which stimulates blood flow and encourages them to heal (neoangioesthesis) It can also numb and anesthetise the nerve endings, thereby reducing pain.

And the best part about it is no medication or surgery is required and the results are both fast and effective.

So, now, excitingly we’ve introduced another form known as focused shockwave therapy to our suite of services.

Unlike the radial method, designed essentailly for superficial (diseases of tendon attachments) medical problems, this technique uses shockwaves that penetrate a depth of 8cm, which means we can get much deeper into the tissue or joint at demonstrated here.

It can also be less painful to deliver than the radial shockwave because it's aimed at deeper problems like bone fractures, middle of the hip however some studies have confirmed that it's had reasonable outcomes for some of the superficial problems also.

But don’t just take our word for it.

The benefits of this have been documented in a couple of clinical journals, principally in the USA gaining FDA approval.  Due to my experiences over the past 14 years and learned physicians asking me to participate in studies of my own, adding Focused Shockwave to the clinic seemed very prudent. 

Going forward, I will be involved in studies with some orthopaedic surgeons so watch this space. The Focused technology is considerably more expensive but for the moment we're charging the same as we would for the radial device. As before, between three and five sessions are needed. 

If you’d like to learn more about Shockwave Therapy, you can download my free book here, which explains everything you need to know.

If you’d like to book a consultation please call 020 8662 1155 or email contact@osteopathclinic.co.uk.

Principal Paul applying Shockwave to his knee

Never let it be said we’d recommend things we weren't willing to do ourselves…

Earlier this week Paul broadcast a Facebook Live session as he Shockwaved his knee. For those technically minded: lateral femoral condyle and soft tissues superiority and inferiority work 😉

If you’ve ever wondered about the procedure, this is a great watch.