New shockwave therapy at Holly House

Patients that have been suffering for years with chronic pain in their feet and ankles can now be treated with shockwave therapy at Holly House Hospital.

Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment which is helpful in providing pain relief for patients suffering from a number of common painful orthopaedic conditions or sports injuries.  In particular it is revolutionising the treatment of plantar fasciitis or heel spur as it is most commonly known.

Plantar fasciitis is a painful and often debilitating condition that affects more than 500,000 people in the UK each year.  Although everyone is at risk, plantar fasciitis is most commonly found in athletes, runners, overweight people and those who are required to stand on hard surfaces for prolonged periods of time.  In fact it is the most common sporting injury seen in general practice.

Whilst physiotherapy and local steroid injections can help relieve the symptoms, previously surgery has been the only long-term option for chronic sufferers.  However, now patients can be successfully treated with shockwave therapy using the latest innovative non-surgical equipment.

The treatment works by applying energetic (not electrical) shockwaves to the painful area.  The shockwaves break down injured tissue and calcifications as well as initiating increased blood circulation to the area which in turn accelerates the body’s own healing processes.

The therapy is non-invasive, virtually painless, takes just ten minutes and results in significant pain relief eight to ten days after the first treatment (generally three treatments are required).  In short, patients no longer need surgery or an anaesthetic with their associated risks and better still benefit from a quicker rehabilitation and higher success rate.  As well as plantar fasciitis, shockwave therapy is also recommended for other chronic tendon inflammations in the hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, Achilles or foot.  Conditions include tennis elbow, tendonitis of the shoulder, tendonopathies of the Achilles tendon, hamstring and patella as well as other painful areas like trochanteric bursitis.

This new therapy is just one of the many newphysiotherapy services introduced at Holly House Hospital to coincide with the recent launch of the Physiotherapy and Sports Injuries Clinic.   The clinic was the first phase to be completed of the hospital’s ongoing £20 million redevelopment and expansion project.   For more information please see shockwave therapy or call 020 8936 1210 to book an appointment.