- The
FDA (Food and
Drug Administration) has approved applications SWT
(Shock Wave Therapy) for tennis elbow and plantar
fascitis and kidney stones. Since 1980 hundreds of
thousands of people have been treated primarily for
kidney stones.*
-
- What
is it?:
The brochure
by Swiss DlorClast ( manufacturer) refers to SWT as a
high impulse frequency treatment. The frequency range
is 1-15 Hz which fires direct pluses in rapid fire of
selectable impulse repetitions; a pneumatic hand held
piece which is held at the site with ultrasound screen
to view the area as it is being treated (this in my
opinion is the only cool thing about this treatment).
-
- How
it's Done: Most
horses in the studies done were first shaved, then had
conductive gel applied and usually are anesthetized
with lidocaine or tranquilized. Having to anesthetize
or tranquilize an area first, tells you it is not
tolerated well by horses. The treatment is considered
non-invasive, but the prep (having to give an
injection), is not non-invasive and has it own risks.
Having had a personal demonstration, I can tell you it
feels like a jack hammer! By changing instrument
selections in Hz and Impulses it can be from tolerably
to quite unpleasant.
-
- Last
Resort:
The reason the
treatment is supposedly recommend is because of the
failure of traditional treatments. One of the
conditions selected for German study (00) was for
chronic desmitis of the proximal suspensory ligament.
Treating 30 horses with 3 treatments each over 6
months, 18 horses returned back to a full work load, 3
showed no pain reduction at all and the balance had
mixed results. The studies claim success based on some
improvement of pain reduction in 22 out of the 30
horses. Out of this group, it is claimed 7 showed
complete resolution of the initial damage.
-
- It's
Not Cheap:
Costs of the
treatments varies from $375.00 to $600.00 per
treatment depending solely on the discretion of the
vet offering this service. So, it could cost you
anywhere from $1175.00 to $1800.00 to be possibly in
the 7 out of 30 group. In my book, this treatment is
too expensive for a possible reduction in pain when
microcurrent, IontoPhoresis, and myofascial release
can provide the same possible outcome for a fraction
of the cost. In extreme cases when time is of the
essence and there is serious scaring or tissue fibers
that have ended up in a miss mash of growth; one or
two applications of shock waves could provide a quick
break up of tissue. When followed up with microcurrent
and IontoPhoresis to reduce the inflammation and
damage done by traumatizing the tissue with the shock
waves the out come has been successful per therapist,
Bambi Dore.
-
- So,
why the sudden push of this
treatment?
Duh. It's been highly profitable in the kidney stone
business
- for years. The
Veterinarians that have purchased this equipment can
only recover their investment by selling treatments.
Even though claims are made that this is a
non-invasive treatment; all of the tissue is being
traumatized. That is why the National Institute of
Health has been conducting a study over the past 20
years to take a look at the side affects from having
had Shockwave Therapy for Kidney Stones.
- The Kidney Stone was
the target but all the tissue between the surface of
the skin to the stone is affected and many patients
are suffering pain even though it was claimed a
success because the stones are gone. On horse legs it
seems it might be okay in limited use to break up
misaligned scar tissue from a very old injury, that
was not treated properly in the first place. (Did you
know microcurrent will realign tissue?) The leg area
tissue is not as dense as other structures of fascia.
However, using on back pain as many vets are, seems
dangerously foolish to me.
-
- I'm not an expert,
but I can read and I do listen to my customers who
have experienced the failed results of SWT. So,
consider the risks carefully before choosing SWT.
- My advise for your
horses sake, is to try MicroCurrent, IontoPhoresis,
and Myofascial Release, singly or in combination
before doing Shockwave Therapy.
-
- CONCERNS:
What were not
being told
- Statement of the
Problem and Main Goals of our Research
Effort
- When shock wave
lithotripsy (SWL) was introduced in the mid-1980's it
was accepted almost immediately. Growth in popularity
was extremely rapid and was based in part on the
perception that SWL was entirely safe. Now after
nearly 12 years of clinical SWL studies, experience
tells us differently. SWL may be very effective at
breaking kidney stones, but it can also cause severe,
acute, and chronic side effects.
-
- Unfortunately, the
rapid acceptance of SWL out-distanced efforts to
determine objective criteria for safe clinical
treatment. Today, treatment protocols vary among
clinical centers and it is only recently that clinical
and basic research has begun to address the adverse
effects associated with lithotripsy. Thus, very little
is known about how shock waves (SW's) break stones,
and there are few clues to help us understand the
cause and effects of SWL-induced renal injury. We pose
four questions that are critical to understanding the
adverse effects of lithotripsy. These questions define
the focus of this Program Project.
- o How do lithotripter
shock waves break kidney stones?
- o How do shock waves
cause renal injury?
- o What are the
long-term consequences of shock wave injury to the
kidney?
- o What factors (renal
and extra renal) place patients at increased risk of
injury?
- We have created a
coordinated, highly interactive, multidisciplinary,
and collaborative approach to investigate the
mechanisms of stone comminution and the biology of
renal injury in SWL. The main goal of this research is
to determine the physical mechanisms of stone
comminution and the cause and consequences of
SW-induced renal injury. So that strategies can be
devised to minimize or eliminate adverse effects while
improving the efficacy of SWL. A Link to this site:
- http://anatomy.iupui.edu/lithotripsy/struc2func1.html
- And look at this
picture of what SWT does to a brass plate:
-
- By the way; to avoid
getting Kidney Stones, drink plenty of filtered water
daily. Never from Hot Water Tap !
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