Why Shockwave Therapy is a Waste of Time and Money

Let's talk about shockwave therapy—the so-called "high-tech hammer" for injuries. You’ve probably seen it advertised as the miracle cure for rotator cuff issues, tennis elbow, patellar tendinopathy, and Achilles tendinopathy. Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it is.

The Science (or Lack Thereof) Behind Shockwave Therapy

Sure, it makes a lot of noise (literally), but does it actually work? Not really. Studies have shown that shockwave therapy has limited to no long-term benefits for tendon injuries. A meta-analysis published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine found no significant difference between shockwave therapy and placebo treatments for chronic tendinopathies (Schmitz et al., 2015).

Evidence-Based Research on Shockwave Therapy for Tendinopathies

Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy

• Desmeules et al. (2016) in The Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy found that progressive strengthening exercises were more effective than shockwave therapy for rotator cuff injuries.

Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)

• Coombes et al. (2010) concluded that shockwave therapy had no long-term benefits for tennis elbow and was no better than a placebo treatment.

Patellar Tendinopathy

• van Ark et al. (2018) reviewed multiple studies and found that progressive loading programs were the gold standard for patellar tendinopathy, while shockwave therapy showed minimal benefit.

Achilles Tendinopathy

• Docking et al. (2019) demonstrated that eccentric exercises and load management were significantly more effective than shockwave therapy in Achilles tendinopathy rehabilitation.

General Tendinopathy Treatment

• Schmitz et al. (2015) conducted a meta-analysis in The American Journal of Sports Medicine and found no significant difference between shockwave therapy and placebo treatments for chronic tendinopathies.

Translation? You're paying good money for someone to make your injury site vibrate with sound waves, hoping for magic to happen. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t.

The Physiology of Shockwave Therapy: A Fancy Noisemaker

Shockwave therapy works by sending high-energy sound waves into the tissue, supposedly triggering a healing response. But here’s the kicker: tendons already have a poor blood supply, and blasting them with shockwaves does little to actually enhance their repair process. Healing happens through mechanical loading and progressive rehab, not through sound waves pretending to be superheroes.

Why It’s a Gimmick

1. No Specialist Skill Required Anyone can apply it—your barber, your grandma, your neighbor Bob. There’s zero specialist skill involved. Just press a button and boom—instant (temporary) pain relief that fades away faster than your motivation to go to the gym.
2. It Doesn’t Address the Root Cause Shockwave therapy doesn’t fix movement dysfunction, muscle imbalances, or biomechanical issues. It’s like putting duct tape on a leaking pipe—looks fine for a bit, but the problem is still there.
3. Temporary Pain Relief, Not Healing Shockwave therapy may numb pain by overstimulating nerve endings, but it doesn’t actually speed up healing. Your body still needs progressive loading, mobility work, and strengthening to recover properly.

So, What’s Better Than Shockwave Therapy?

• Progressive loading and strengthening exercises tailored to the specific injury.
• Eccentric training, which has actual proven effectiveness for tendinopathy.
• Manual therapy & movement retraining to fix underlying dysfunctions.
• Cold plunge therapy (when appropriate) to reduce post-exercise soreness—because at least that has science behind it.

Final Verdict: Keep Your Money, Skip the Noise

Shockwave therapy is like paying for an expensive speaker that just hums at your injury while you hope for the best. Instead, invest your time (and cash) into evidence-based treatments that actually work.

Next time someone offers you shockwave therapy, hit them with this: "So, is this actually fixing my injury, or are we just giving my tendons a very expensive wake-up call?" ??