What is radial shockwave therapy?
Source check: October 17, 2026. This addition explains equipment names, device records and selected study measurements. It does not recommend a treatment or a treatment setting.
Is radial shockwave the same as focused shockwave?
The International Society for Medical Shockwave Treatment's June 20, 2017 terminology statement lists air pressure or electromagnetic coils as ways to generate radial pressure waves. It separately lists piezoelectric, electromagnetic and electrohydraulic generation for focused or defocused shockwaves. Source: ISMST's generation categories.
The society's physics working group also explains that radial and focusing applicators produce different sound fields and that their parameters are not defined in the same way. Ask for the manufacturer, model and applicator name, rather than relying on the word "shockwave" alone. Source: ISMST's device-reporting recommendations.
What does an FDA record say about a specific device?
FDA's original approval record P050004 names the EMS Swiss DolorClast and gives a decision date of May 8, 2007. Its listed indication is chronic proximal plantar fasciitis in adults aged 18 or older, with symptoms lasting at least six months and unsuccessful conservative therapy. This describes that record's indication, not a recommendation for an individual patient. Source: FDA's original DolorClast approval record.
The same query returns a separate 2009 supplement about a manufacturing location. Keep the original approval and the supplement distinct. Ask a clinic to identify its exact device and the corresponding regulatory record before interpreting an approval claim. Source: FDA's DolorClast original and supplement entries.
What have radial shockwave studies measured for heel pain?
A 2008 randomized placebo-controlled study by Gerdesmeyer and colleagues enrolled 245 patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. Its published abstract reports a 72.1 percent reduction in a composite visual-analog pain score in the radial-treatment group versus 44.7 percent in the placebo group at 12 weeks, with P = .0220. These percentages describe a score change, not the percentage of patients who responded. This summary uses the original abstract, not a full-text review. Source: Gerdesmeyer's 2008 trial abstract.
A 2024 trial by Heide and colleagues randomized 200 patients with plantar fasciopathy into four groups of 50. Everyone received advice and custom foot orthoses before randomization; the additional assignments were radial shockwave, sham shockwave, exercise, or no additional treatment. Source: Heide's trial population and comparisons.
At six months, the 2024 trial's estimated between-group difference in change in activity-related heel pain was -0.02 points for radial shockwave versus advice and orthoses alone, on a 0 to 10 scale. The 95 percent confidence interval was -1.01 to 0.96. The analysis included all 200 randomized patients; 184 attended the six-month follow-up. The paper reported no statistically significant difference for this comparison. Source: Heide's six-month outcome and follow-up.
The studies used different comparisons and outcome measures. Read each result with its population, comparator, measurement and follow-up attached; the numbers are not a direct comparison of two clinic services.
What should a clinic's shockwave description specify?
Ask which device and applicator the clinic uses, whether it is radial or focused, and which paper describes that equipment. Ask what other treatments were included in that study and what outcome was measured. ISMST's reporting recommendations explicitly call for the device, applicator, additional treatments and outcome definition. Source: ISMST's study-description checklist.
For a quote, request separate entries for the assessment, each session, the proposed number of visits and any additional services. Ask what the quoted total includes. These are comparison questions, not a prescribed schedule or a price estimate.
Where can I compare Shockwave Therapy listings?
Regenerated.com's September 2026 export contains 1,147 clinics listing Shockwave Therapy within a sample of 9,042 published US clinic records. This is historical coverage of our directory, not a count of all US providers or a count of clinics using a particular device. Source: Regenerated.com's September 2026 published-clinic export.
Browse Shockwave Therapy clinics, or compare California Shockwave Therapy listings. Confirm device details directly with the clinic. Inclusion in the directory is not an endorsement.
How shockwave therapy works
Shockwave therapy is administered through a handheld device over the skin. The focused mechanical forces created by each of the soundwave pulses emitted by the device helps pain and healing in a few ways.
It relieves pain by overstimulating sensory nerves or decreasing pain-signaling chemicals. It helps encourage healing by increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation, as well as stimulating your body’s repair cells, including fibroblasts, which are cells that help create collagen to heal connective tissues, and stem cells for regeneration (Ryskalin et al., 2025).
What conditions is it used for
Achilles tendinopathy
Frozen shoulder
Tennis elbow
Golfer’s elbow
Heel bursitis
Jumper’s knee
Trigger finger
Mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome
Shin splints
Stress fractures and non-healing fractures
Knee osteoarthritis
What to expect during treatment
Shockwave therapy is performed by a qualified physician after a consultation that includes a physical examination of the affected area and a detailed conversation about your medical history including your symptoms, previous injuries, lifestyle habits, and existing medical conditions.
Your doctor will order imaging to get a better understanding of your injury and to help decide on the best treatment course. If shockwave therapy is right for you, they will explain how the treatment works and how many sessions you will need based on your injury. Shockwave therapy typically requires 3 to 5 sessions spaced one week apart, depending on the condition being treated (Tenforde et al., 2022).
Though shockwave therapy may sound painful, research shows that it’s typically well tolerated and safe when performed by a qualified physician. Side effects tend to be mild and may include redness, swelling, or discomfort at the treatment site.
The mechanism in depth
They also stimulate osteoblasts, which are involved in bone healing and the production of new bone.
While shockwave therapy is used widely and works well for many people, more research is needed to learn exactly how it helps the body heal and which conditions and injuries it works best for.
It’s often used alongside other treatments and lifestyle changes that improve your systemic health for a better response to treatment.
Shockwave therapy can help people with chronic tendon, muscle, joint, and bone injuries that haven’t improved with traditional treatments. It provides a nonsurgical option to treat stubborn injuries. By stimulating your body’s own healing capabilities, it may help avoid the need for repeated, long-term treatments, such as steroid injections or medication.
Your tissue’s ability to heal depends on your overall health. Many of the same lifestyle modifications that surgeons recommend patients make to improve surgical outcomes are also important for improving your response to shockwave therapy. These are modifications that help improve metabolic health, reduce chronic inflammation, and stimulate collagen production, such as not smoking, getting enough quality sleep, and eating a diet rich in protein, vitamin C, and zinc. Exercise, improving sleep, and getting to and maintaining a healthy weight are also important.
Shockwave therapy is best for people who are in good overall health or willing to make healthy changes to support their overall recovery.
Common uses
Shockwave therapy is mostly used to treat musculoskeletal conditions, such as:
Achilles tendinopathy
Frozen shoulder
Tennis elbow
Golfer’s elbow
Heel bursitis
Jumper’s knee
Trigger finger
Mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome
Shin splints
Stress fractures and non-healing fractures
Knee osteoarthritis
While these are currently some of the more common uses of shockwave therapy, some experts are also using it to treat other conditions. For example, other types of osteoarthritis outside of the knee, lymphedema, and erectile dysfunction.
What the evidence supports
Shockwave therapy is widely used and accepted as a safe and effective treatment for tendinopathies, including tennis elbow.
A 2024 review of 18 studies found that compared to placebo, high-energy shockwave therapy effectively improved pain and function in people with upper limb tendonitis, including tennis elbow, as well as rotator cuff tendonitis and trigger finger (Xiong et al., 2024).
In a 2023 randomized controlled trial involving 87 patients who had tennis elbow that compared focused and radial shock wave treatments to a sham treatment, both shock wave groups showed significant improvements in pain and function scores with better results than the sham group (Kaplan et al., 2023). Another study a year earlier that compared shock wave therapy (ESWT) with other treatments for tennis elbow found that 5 sessions of ESWT led to greater improvements in pain, arm function, and grip strength than conventional physiotherapy (Aldajah et al., 2022).
Though research is ongoing, shockwave therapy is also emerging as a treatment for knee osteoarthritis thanks to some promising research. For instance, a 2024 review of 24 articles found that shockwave therapy was effective for knee osteoarthritis and in some cases was better than other therapies, including corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy. Adding shockwave therapy to isokinetic muscular strengthening exercises (IMSE) was also found to be better than IMSE alone (Liao et al., 2024).
Shockwave therapy has become a go-to for the treatment of sports-related injuries because it requires minimal downtime so you can get back to your training or activities while your body heals.
A 2024 review involving 56 studies and 1,874 athletes or physically active people found shockwave treatment to be safe and effective on its own for sports-related injuries, such as plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, and proximal hamstring tendinopathy, and alongside exercise therapy for shin splints and osteitis pubis, which is inflammation of the joint between your pubic bones (Rhim et al., 2024).
Low intensity shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT) is a newer treatment for erectile dysfunction, and while more research is needed on long-term outcomes, recent studies are promising. One example is a 2023 systematic review of 52 studies which found that low-intensity shockwave therapy improves sexual function and erection hardness, suggesting it may be a safe and effective option (Bocchino et al., 2023).
Where the evidence is limited
While widely used for treating numerous conditions, primarily musculoskeletal, more research is needed to understand exactly how shockwave therapy works. Research for some uses has shown mixed results and even those that have been more extensively researched still require more clinical evidence to determine the best uses and treatment protocols, and long-term safety and efficacy.
Safety and regulation
Shockwave therapy devices are FDA-regulated medical devices, meaning they have been extensively researched for safety and efficacy. The FDA has approved shockwave therapy for certain conditions, such as plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow, but some emerging uses are considered “off-label” or experimental. This means that while the device is FDA-approved, it has not been approved to treat that specific condition, but clinicians can legally use it based on their medical opinion and judgment. Erectile dysfunction is one example of this. Many doctors use shockwave therapy off-label to treat erectile dysfunction because there is quite a bit of data to support its efficacy, though research is ongoing.
Like any medical treatment, shockwave therapy, despite being generally effective and well-tolerated, does carry the risk of side effects and complications. Local side effects, which are usually mild, can include pain, redness, swelling, and bruising. Some people may experience tingling or numbness. Headache and migraine are other potential side effects.
Complications, though rare, include nerve irritation and damage. There have also been two reports of Achilles rupture (Tenforde et al., 2022).
Shockwave therapy isn’t recommended for everyone and should be avoided in patients who are pregnant, have an active infection, or those diagnosed with a bleeding disorder.
Choosing a qualified provider significantly reduces the risk of complications.
The future of shockwave therapy
Shockwave therapy continues to evolve at a fast pace with new devices and innovations in technology, and more robust research exploring its potential benefits for a wider range of conditions.
Takeaway
Shockwave therapy offers a promising noninvasive option for those seeking relief from chronic musculoskeletal conditions and sports injuries, as well as various other conditions. With its gentle approach and minimal downtime, it encourages your body’s natural healing abilities. Combined with healthy lifestyle modifications, shockwave therapy may help you get the long-term relief you’re after.
If you’re looking for a provider, you can browse vetted shockwave therapy clinics across the U.S. in our directory.
