A physician at Back Pain STL examines your back, decides whether this belongs in your plan and writes the order. A trained technician carries it out exactly as written. Nothing starts unless a physician is in the clinic and free to come to you right away.

What is it?

A handheld tool is pressed on the sore spot and delivers the pulses. It takes about 10 minutes. You get it once a week at the most, across a series of visits.

How does it help a sore back?

Low back pain often has a partner: a sore tendon at the side of the hip, a tender hamstring at the sit bone, or a tight knot deep in the buttock. These spots can keep hurting long after the back settles.

Shockwave treats that partner. They push the body to start repairing tissue that quit healing on its own. It is never aimed at the spine.

What does it feel like?

Firm, rapid tapping that may be uncomfortable for a few seconds. Every 500 pulses your technician pauses to ask your pain number. Redness or a light bruise afterward is common.

Who should not have it?

• Pregnancy
• A pacemaker
• Taking blood thinners, or having a bleeding disorder
• A steroid injection in that same spot during the past 6 weeks
• Cancer or infection in the area to be treated
• Patients younger than 18 whose growth plates near the sore area have not closed
• The spine, chest or head, or over a major artery or nerve

Your technician reads the safety questions out loud before every visit. If your answers have changed, the physician decides before anything starts. You can ask to stop at any point.

More on this site: hip bursitis, hamstring tendonitis, whether it is your hip or your back.

Other treatments in the program

• Heat or cold
• Vibration platform
• Traction chair
• Laser therapy
• TENS

This page is part of our physiotherapy program for back pain, where a physician orders, supervises and re-checks every step.