Wounds and abrasions

Muscle spasms, strains and sprains

Ligament and tendon injuries

Hematomas and gross edema

Osteoarthritis

Acute and chronic inflammation

Acute and chronic pain

Myofascial trigger points and pain points

Non-union and small-bone fractures

Neuralgia and neuritis

Muscle contractures/scar tissue

Generalized pain

Facilitates faster healing by increasing cellular proliferation (the rate at which cells reproduce)

Reduces pain by stimulating endorphin receptors (the body’s natural “pain killer” hormone)

Reduces inflammation by stimulating the lymphatic system

Increases blood flow by means of vasodilation and angiogenesis.

Improves the tensile strength of tissues by increasing myofibroblast activity

Improves joint health by stimulating chondrocytes (the cells that produce cartilage)

Increases collagen synthesis

Enhances immune cell activity

Subacute or chronic soft tissue injuries such as tendinopathies, muscle strains/sprains, and ligament strains/sprains

Myofascial pain therapy

Calcific lesions

Subacute/chronic joint pathologies such as osteoarthritis, meniscal injuries and labral tears

Muscle and connective tissue activation

Tendon attachment site and ligament illnesses

Delayed union/non-union fractures (most effective when the bone has reached the stage of callus formation)

Stress fractures

Lumbosacral disc disease

Avascular necrosis

“Mechanical back pain”

Neurogenic muscular spasticity and hypertonia

The device is a compressed air-operated ballistic shock wave generator. The shock waves in the device are generated with a precision ballistic mechanism in the handpiece. A projectile is accelerated by compressed air and the motion and weight of this projectile produces kinetic energy. When the projectile impacts against an immovable surface, the shock transmitter, this kinetic energy is converted into sound energy. This acoustic pulse is transmitted into the tissue to directly via the hand-held transmitter.

These waves are physically classified as radial pressure waves. The applied pressure pulse propagates radially within the tissue and has a therapeutic effect on areas of the tissue near the surface, in particular. The primary result is a high-energy acoustic wave directly impacting the target tissue, provoking the body’s healing and repair processes.

Pain Relief: Shockwave relieves pain via the Gate Control Theory of Pain. Pain is transmitted from a location within the body via signals in the nervous system. The Gate Control Theory of Pain refers to “nerve gates” in the spinal cord that can open or close. If these gates are open, the pain signals will continue to travel to the brain. If these gates are closed, the pain signals are prevented from reaching the brain, resulting in suppressed pain. Radial Shockwave closes these gates resulting in greatly reduced pain, and at times, eliminates pain all together.

Cavitation: Similar to therapeutic ultrasound, radial shockwave therapy causes cavitation within tissues. Cavitation is the rapid formation, expansion, and forceful collapse of vapor bubbles in liquids (or in this case tissues). There are 2 types of cavitation: stable and unstable. Stable cavitation occurs with radial shockwave therapy. The gas bubbles within the tissues cause a cavity, which acts to enhance the acoustic streaming effects of the kinectic energy waves. Acoustic streaming can alter cellular diffusion rates and membrane permeability. The end result is increased cellular activity.

While the mechanism for the effects of radial shockwave are still being studied, the most strongly established treatment effects are: mechanical stimulation, increased local blood flow, increased in cellular activity (release of substance P, prostaglandin E2, NO, TGF β, VEGF, and other inflammatory cytokines), transient effect on afferent nerves, and break down calcific deposits. When used on a chronic injury, these physiological effects will essentially re-start the healing process by taking the injured tissue from the chronic state to a more acute state.

Side effects from radial shockwave therapy are uncommon, but can occur.

These include:

Swelling, reddening, hematomas

Petechiae

Pain

* If your pet experiences any of these side effects, they will generally abate after 5 to 10 days*

Generally no. The pressure system feels similar to an intense massage. If the area that is being treated is particularly painful, the treatment may be uncomfortable. We want your pet to have a positive experience with treatment and make sure to keep everything within his or her tolerance levels. If your pet seems uncomfortable at any time, we will either decrease the intensity of the treatment or may stop the session if he or she simply is not tolerating it.

There is a small projectile within the handle of the radial shockwave system which rapidly bounces back and forth creating the actual “pressure waves”. During treatment, you will hear a rapid knocking sound. This sound can be intimidating for some pets. For this reason, we will always begin your pet’s first session by acclimating him/her to the sound of the machine. In some cases, if your pet is very sound sensitive, it may take 2-3 sessions of acclimation prior to applying the treatment in order to ensure that he or she continues to have a positive experience.

Muscle contractures

Scar tissue formation

Muscle/trigger point dysfunction

Tendon and ligament injuries

Fractures

Pain

Breaks down scar tissue

Improves tissue extensibility

Improves circulation

Decreases pain

Creates a deep heat to relieve muscle spasms and pain

Increases healing rates

Therapeutic ultrasound works by two mechanisms: thermal effects and non-thermal effects.

Thermal Effects: Therapeutic ultrasound creates a deep heat within tissues. This is highly effective for improving the flexibility of tissues and is often used to treat muscle spasms and contractures. Ultrasound is also very effective for preparing tissues prior to manual therapy techniques. These thermal effects occur deep within the tissues and typically the patient experiences a comfortable warming sensation.

Non-Thermal Effects: Therapeutic ultrasound also works by a process referred to as “cavitation”. Cavitation is the creation of microscopic gas bubbles that are rapidly expanding and contracting within tissues. Cavitation is effective for speeding cellular processes, facilitating healing, and increasing blood flow.

EMS is particularly effective for patients that are immediately post-surgery and are not able or not allowed to use the limb they had surgery on or patients that have neurologic impairments. When muscles are not in use, they lose mass very quickly (referred to as muscle atrophy). EMS serves as a tool to help slow and/or prevent atrophy. Additionally, by mimicking the action potentials in a muscle group, EMS can help re-educate the nerves in the area so that a patient suffering from neurologic dysfunction can begin to progress towards function. When working with neurologically impaired patients, we will often perform various functional exercises with patients while their muscles are contracting with EMS, which emphasizes neuromuscular re-education.

While both utilize an electrical impulse, EMS is different than TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation). TENS is widely used in human physical therapy for pain relief. While both modalities look very similar, EMS does not provide any pain relief. The units that we use at ARC and sell to clients for home use, however, are combination units and have the capability to do both EMS and TENS.

During treatments, many pets can feel their muscles activating in a pulsing “twitch”, but this is kept at a comfortable intensity

Pain Disorders

Paresis and Neurologic Dysfunction

Sprains, Strains, and Spasms

Post-Operative Pain and Scars

Pain disorders

Post-Operative Pain

Paresis and Neurologic Dysfunction

Depression

Anxiety

Insomnia