Shock wave therapy started for Achilles calcific tendonitis
Last night was my first shockwave therapy session for my achilles. It should be the first of about six treatments. During this time, I was instructed to stop doing my Alfredson’s Protocol exercises, which is OK with me. After all, I wasn’t seeing any significant progress.
The way I understand it, the SWT will break apart the calcium deposits in the tendon so that they can be absorbed into the body. The benefit to this is that the calcium is apparently a source of the pain in the tendon and if we can get rid of that, my achilles can get back to normal.
I am hearing different stories on how effective this treatment is. My doctor said it is 80% successful, the SWT therapist said 90%, and the ultrasound technician said it is a very good treatment. I also found a study on this treatment as it pertains to achilles tendinosis and it said that it had an effectiveness of 52% (versus 60% for eccentric loading) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3070010/)
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Hope it works for you!