Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy
Shockwave therapy is a noninvasive, drug-free treatment for pets experiencing pain and lameness. The technology employs focused high-energy sound waves to stimulate the body’s healing, regeneration, and pain relieving processes. While prior technology required dogs be sedated for shockwave therapy, advances in technology have made this modality of treatment more widely available for your pet without sedation. At Thrive we use Piezowave technology by Elevation Vet USA.
How does it work?
Sound wave energy stimulates the tissue to produce cellular and mechanical effects –
including . The shockwaves “kickstart” the body’s natural healing process in the targeted tissue and relieve pain. By activating the connective tissue, stimulating the formation of new blood vessels, and increasing blood flow, the local tissues have increasd cellular metabolic activity improved function.
Common uses for shockwave include:
What can I expect?
A handheld probe is held against the treatment area for an average of 5 minutes per site. You will hear an audible click as we deliver the “waves” directly to the targeted joint, ligament or sore muscle. It can be somewhat uncomfortable, especially on painful areas such as an arthritic joint – however, most dogs do just great!
Depending on the specific condition, pets usually need one to three treatments, spaced two to three weeks apart for acute injuries. Other more chronic, palliative cases may benefit from regular sessions for general pain management.
