Tratamiento de afecciones músculo-esqueléticas con ondas de choque extracorpóreas / Extracorporeal shock wave therapy for musculoskeletal disorders

Extracorporeal shock waves are pressure waves used to treat certain musculoskeletal conditions. Focused wavetherapy, the same that is used in lithotripsy, but actingthrough a different mechanism, is used to treat pseudoarthritis and delayed consolidation, avascular necrosis of large joints, osteochondritis dissecans, calcific tendonitis and enthesopathies. We study its use in myocardial infarction. Results are positive, and this constitutes a non invasive alternative to surgery. It must be applied with anesthesia or analgesics and presents the same risks as lithotripsy. Radial wave therapy has shown good results in pathologies that do not respond well to conventional treatments, such as calcific tendonitis of the shoulder, frozen shoulder, plantar fasciitis (with or without calcaneal spurs), epicondilitis, trocanterous bursitis, patellar tendonitis,Achilles tendonitis, Morton’s neuroma, trigger points; and less favorable results in medial epicondylitis, andmore recently in diabetic foot. This therapy constitutes a non invasive alternative to surgery, practically riskfree. It is ambulatory and requires neither anesthesianor significant analgesics. It does not require sick leave. Shock waves act through the so called biological effect, producing analgesia and inducing osteogenesis, repairing tendons and other soft tissue damage, as well as reabsorbing calcium deposits. Results using shock waves are comparable to surgery, without the risks of complications associated to the later, with lower costs and less days of physical invalidity.