Skiing is a popular sport with wonderful benefits for cardiovascular health, muscle growth, and mental health. Nonetheless, it can be very high risk with lots of potential for awkward falls and general wear and tear.
Fractures and joint sprains are among the most common ski injuries. And with a small window of opportunity to take advantage of good skiing conditions, it can be very frustrating for patients trying to rehab these injuries.
Fortunately, shockwave therapy can treat many of the most common ski injuries without drugs or surgery.
Using a handheld device, a healthcare professional can target an affected area with strong energy pulses. These pulses create micro-cavitation bubbles that expand and burst. In turn, cells in the body that are responsible for healing bone and tissue are stimulated.
Here are some common ski injuries shockwave therapy can treat.
Knee Injuries
Accounting for a quarter of ski injuries, knee problems are the most common ski injuries.
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessed the efficacy of shockwave therapy for treating knee soft tissue disorders. Researchers concluded that shockwave therapy had significant effects on treatment success rate, pain reduction, and restoring range of motion.
Shoulder Injuries
If you’re going to fall, it’s natural to brace your fall by sticking your arms out. But this can damage your shoulder joint.
A recent prospective study evaluated the efficacy of using shockwave therapy to treat a variety of shoulder injuries including tendinopathy, partial rotator cuff injury, adhesive capsulitis, and calcareous tendinopathy of the rotator cuff.
Researchers evaluated success based on VAS of pain, range of motion of the shoulder, and functional questionnaires DASH and modified UCLA. They concluded that shockwave therapy “proved to be efficient and safe in the treatment of shoulder pathologies, improving pain, range of motion and functional scores in all groups of patients evaluated in the study.”
Nonunions
Like shoulder injuries, falls can also lead to fractures. Likewise, fractures that don’t heal become nonunions.
A study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma looked at using shockwave therapy to treat nonunion of the tibia. Of the 172 patients included in the study, researchers found that over 80% had demonstrated complete fracture healing.
Treat the Most Most Common Ski Injuries With Shockwave Therapy
If you would like to use shockwave therapy to treat your patients with skiing injuries, Medical Wave offers the best devices on the market.
Call 1-866-267-4162 or visit our website today to learn more.