If the tendon has outlasted rest, stretching, insoles and a cortisone that lasted six weeks, this is the next step. Acoustic waves. Scar tissue. New blood flow. £65 a session, booked on the same Halaxy diary as the rest of clinic.
The wave reaches the tendon and bone interface — the bit creams and stretching never touch.
Disorganised scar and calcium deposits are disrupted so the tendon can remodel.
The body treats it as a controlled stimulus and sends healing chemistry to a tissue that had stalled.
Best on a tendon or fascia that has been angry for months. Not a blanket treatment for every ache. If it is the wrong tissue, Rohan will say so and treat that instead.
First step out of bed feels like glass. Stretches, insoles and a night splint have already had their turn. ESWT is for the fascia that will not settle.
Strongest evidence · 3–6 sessionsFine on the run, stiff and sore the next morning — mid-portion or insertional. Shockwave sits with heavy-slow loading, not instead of it.
Mid-portion or insertionalThe kettle, the mouse, pouring a mug. Lateral or medial elbow tendon that has outlasted rest and a brace.
Common clinic indicationDe Quervain’s (thumb-side wrist), trigger thumb, or a painful thumb tendon after lifting a baby or a phone. Shockwave is for the tendon, not every kind of thumb arthritis.
De Quervain · trigger thumbA knot in the calf, glute or shoulder blade that refers pain when pressed. Shockwave can quiet a stubborn point after hands-on work and load have stalled.
Myofascial · selected casesNot first-line for disc or nerve-root back pain. Useful when the driver is chronic lumbar or gluteal trigger points and tendons around the hip that keep the back angry. Assessment first. No “shockwave the whole spine.”
Myofascial / tendon — not every discNight pain that puts you on the sofa. Calcium in the rotator cuff. One of the few clinic options that can disrupt the deposit without an injection.
Painful arc · night painJumper’s knee that stayed after you stopped jumping. Pain under the kneecap after training, not always during it.
Load + ESWTCannot lie on that side. Often the gluteal tendon, not “bursitis for life.”
Side-lying painPain in a tendon or fascia for 3+ months. Morning stiffness. Worse after rest then eases a little with movement. You have already tried sensible load and stretching. Scan optional — bring it if you have one.
Acute tear in the last few days, infection, unhealed fracture in the field, malignancy in the area, pregnancy over the treatment field, or a joint that needs a different pathway (acute disc, locked joint, inflammatory flare). Those get a different plan.
Find the spot. Gel. 2,000–3,000 pulses typically. Strong tapping for a few minutes — not a spa. Then the loading you will do at home. Most people drive home. Sore that evening is common. Change is judged over weeks.
Keep walking. Do the two or three exercises written down. Do not book a long run or a heavy session on the same day. Ibuprofen is not the plan unless Rohan says otherwise — the treatment is trying to start a repair response. If it is worse in a way that worries you, WhatsApp the same day.
Bring the disc, the printout, the hospital email. As an FCP Rohan can read it and refer for the next scan without sending you back to the GP queue.
Most chronic tendons need 3–6 sessions, a week apart.
3 sessions · £195
4 sessions · £260
6 sessions · £390
Clinic assessment remains £50 if you have not been seen yet. Shockwave can follow once the tendon is confirmed.
Same clinic. Same Halaxy diary. Same WhatsApp number.