Zimmer Shockwave Therapy

Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Institute, LLC

Daniel D. Michaels, DPM, MS, DABFAS

Podiatrist located in Hagerstown, MD & Frederick, MD

Shockwave Therapy

The procedure takes about 5 minutes once a week for up to 5 weeks. It takes about 3 months to work completely as your body grows new blood vessels to heal the damage. We are applying this energy to cause inflammation to “trick” your body into healing the damage. This is a natural way to heal deformities of the lower extremity as there are no side effects or down time. It is noninvasive in that the energy goes through your skin without leaving any marks and creates inflammation in the damaged tissue which causes your body to heal on its own. During this time, you can take Tylenol or curcumin but no anti-inflammatory medications. You can perform your normal daily and exercise routines right after treatment in most cases. We encourage no icing or NSAID medication as this can cause decreased effectiveness of the procedure. We see greater than 80% success.

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) = the application of pressure mechanical waves outside the body (extracorporeal) that violently impact (shock) biologic tissues for therapeutic purposes.

In 2006 The US FDA approved the ESWT for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. The old systems were large, they needed nerve blocks, needed a room for the machine and scheduling issues and it took 30 minutes to perform the procedure.

Radial Shockwave Therapy

EnPuls Action is a shockwave generated electromagnetically. The applicator produces kinetic energy that transfers the energy to the treatment area in the form of a pulse. This is the type of system we use at the Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Institute, LLC.

Benefits of this system include less pain by producing a slower rise in the peak energy which is less painful for the patient, more durable and less maintenance than air compressor systems.

What do radial waves look like? Think of an ice cream cone, the waves come from the point of the cone and go to the top of the ice cream and go out that way.

No nerve blocks or anesthesia required, it is quick at 5 minutes, no downtime and no negative side effects.