There are two types of shock wave technologies available today they include: high energy hospital units and low energy in-office machines. Low energy units have been approved by the FDA since 2007 and are showing increased utilization and clinical effectiveness in office settings across the United States.

Shockwaves are acoustic sound waves, much like what we hear and some times feel depending on the volume and pitch. The first shock wave machine was developed in 1949 and has been refined into the current day modalities that we have available today.
 

Low-energy, radial shock wave devices allow for what is called patient-focused treatment and do show equivalent efficacy when compared to high-energy devices. Because the patients are awake and not anesthetized, (unless they are having concurrent growth factor trreatment and partial fasciectomy), they can direct the physician to put the focus of the shock wave on the place that hurts them the most. This allows for biofeedback, which has shown to increase effectiveness.
 

Patients will experience some discomfort during treatment, but it is usually tolerable. Normally the area under treatment becomes partially anesthetized after a few hundred shocks, (usually 2000 shocks are administered at a frequency of about 15 per second).
 

Barrett Foot and Ankle Centers were one of the first centers in the United States to have the low-energy technology available.