A Tale of the Tendon
Long-standing injuries to tendons are amongst the
most debilitating of all sports injuries. Shock wave therapy is a
relatively new treatment for these notoriously troublesome problems.
Most tendon problems come on gradually and in the early stages cause
minimum pain and disability, which isn't sufficient to curtail
exercise and sport. For most committed sports people, the onset of
tendon pain is merely viewed as a nuisance and they continue to play
sport & just grin & bear the pain. However this exposes the tendon
to continued physical abuse and further damage occurs.
Many sports people don't consult their Doctor or Physio until their
pain levels are such that their sport is affected. This is
frequently many weeks or even months down the line from the initial
twinges of discomfort. At this stage a significant amount of tendon
damage has usually occurred and this makes treatment difficult.
Shock to the System
Shock wave therapy introduces a controlled amount of energy into the
damaged tendon and stimulates the tendon tissue to regenerate. The
new generation of shock wave machines has been developed from the
large shock wave machines known as lithotropers, which have been
used for many years to break up kidney stones. The shock wave
machines that are now being used to treat chronic tendon conditions
produce less energy than their kidney stone smashing bigger
brothers. They are physically smaller and have been designed to
treat small areas such as the tendons and soft tissues that
frequently cause pain e.g. at the shoulder, elbow, knee & ankle.
Shock wave treatment is probably best used in parallel with current
methods of treating chronic tendon and soft tissue injuries. This is
basically centred on a controlled exercise programme, which is
designed to load the injured tendon with sufficient force to
stimulate it to strengthen. This is a long process as it takes
around 100 days for the body to produce new tendon cells.
In the hands of experienced clinicians, shock wave therapy may well
prove to be a valuable tool in dealing with chronic tendon pain. |
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Philip Newton is a Chartered Physiotherapist, Director of the
Lilleshall Sports Injury Rehab Centre, and provides Physio cover to England
players at major squash events around the world. |
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