🎥 Chapters
00:00 Start
0:19 Osteoarthritis of the Knee and its causes (cartilage degeneration, bone spurs, subchondral sclerosis)
2:09 PiezoWave Shockwave Therapy helping Knee Osteoarthritis
3:05 Studies on the effectiveness of Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) for Knee Osteoarthritis
4:13 ESWT in Knee Osteoarthritis: Therapeutic Effects and possible mechanism
5:14 Bone Spur Reduction: How Shockwave Therapy Works for Knee Osteoarthritis
7:22 Shockwave Therapy versus Stem Cell Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis
Knee Osteoarthritis and Shockwave Therapy
With Chiropractor in Los Gatos, San Jose, SF Bay Area, CA
Joint knee ache
The Piezowave low energy focused shockwave machine (ESWT) is the preferred treatment option for your knee osteoarthritis (OA). We, often, even see results when knees are bone-on-bone helping you alleviate pain and improve function. Knee OA is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown of cartilage in the knee joint, bone spurs and subchondral sclerosis. This leads to pain, stiffness, and decreased mobility. ESWT from the Piezowave delivers low energy focused shockwaves to the affected area, stimulating tissue regeneration, reducing inflammation, and promoting healing. Pair this with rehab exercises and it can significantly improve pain relief and functional outcomes like biking, hiking, skiing and other activities. All of this without the need for surgery or medications. ESWT targets the underlying pathology of the knee by promoting tissue regeneration and repair.. By stimulating the body’s natural healing processes, ESWT helps restore cartilage integrity, reduce inflammation in the joint, and improve joint function, leading to long-term pain relief and improved mobility. This may sound too good to be true but research on ESWT repeatedly shows cartilage/collagen regeneration.
Corticosteroid Injections Versus Shockwave Therapy for Knee Arthritis
Often, people just get the cortisone injection for their knees. Its quick, its easy and it can give you some temporary relief but is cortisone good for your knees in the long-run? Cortisol (the natural form of cortisone) is released in your body during fight-or-flight or stress. Cortisol then breaks down tissue and converts it to glucose. This gives your brain a fuel source in case you are in a stressful situation where you will be without a food source, you’ve lost your leg, are bleeding, etc.. If you inject it into a joint, you will break down the cartilage, bone and other tissues in your joint. This can result in less pressure on pain receptors but lead to a breakdown of the joint. Pain relieving but not to great if you want to have your knee last until death do you part.
On the other hand, focused extracorporeal shockwave therapy offers substantial advantages over corticosteroid injections for knee OA. ESWT promotes tissue regeneration and repair. it is non-invasive, does not require anesthesia and has minimal to no side effects. Unlike cortisone, ESWT holds up to the phrase, “First do no harm”. By promoting tissue regeneration, reducing inflammation, and stimulating healing within the knee joint, ESWT addresses the underlying pathology of knee arthritis and provides long-lasting benefits. With severe knee osteoarthritis, you may find that after an initial course of care you may have a visit once a quarter or every 6 months. When you’re dancing up in your years, you will know it’s well worth it.
You can reach Dr Adam Fields for in-person (Los Gatos and San Jose, California) or telehealth appointments here.
About Chiropractor Dr Adam Fields
Dr Adam Fields is a practicing chiropractor in the Bay Area in Northern California and helps people daily in his office with many challenges that can be helped by shockwave therapy from tendinopathies, arthritis, jumper’s knee, hip issues, cartilage regeneration, post surgical scar tissue, pelvic pain, altered biomechanics and more. He uses Endonasal Cranial Adjusting, the Muncie Technique, Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT), Class IV Laser Therapy, posture correction, lifestyle modification, muscle work, and other techniques to help his patients.