Process & Technology
How It Works
Two ways to understand the same process: the patient-experience view, and — for anyone who wants it — the more technical layer underneath.
1. Medical Evaluation
Every visit starts with a provider, not a treatment. Your provider reviews your history, discusses what you've already tried, and performs a physical exam relevant to your complaint.
2. Determine Whether Shockwave Is Appropriate
Based on your evaluation, your provider will discuss whether shockwave therapy is a reasonable option for your specific condition — and if it isn't, what they'd recommend instead. We do not treat every visitor as an automatic candidate.
3. Targeted Treatment
If appropriate, treatment is delivered directly to the affected tissue using the SoftWave TRT device. See our SoftWave TRT page for details on the technology itself.
4. Monitor Response and Function
Your provider tracks how you respond over your course of care and adjusts the plan as needed — including any complementary recommendations like activity modification or a loading/exercise program, which is common alongside shockwave therapy for tendon conditions.
The Simple Explanation
Shockwave therapy sends focused pressure waves into an area of chronic pain, most often a tendon. That mechanical stimulation is associated with several biological responses researchers have studied, including effects on pain signaling and processes relevant to tissue healing.
The More Technical Explanation
Acoustic pressure waves are generated by the device and transmitted through a coupling gel into the target tissue. As the wave front encounters tissues of different density (such as the interface between soft tissue and tendon, or tendon and bone), it can produce localized mechanical effects. Researchers have studied downstream biological responses associated with this kind of mechanotransduction — including effects relevant to pain modulation and tissue remodeling — though the full mechanism is still an active area of research, and mechanistic findings from laboratory studies should not be equated with proof of a specific clinical outcome. See our Research Center for the clinical trial evidence specific to each condition.
New Patient Exam + First Treatment — $99
First treatment provided when clinically appropriate following your examination.