You may have heard the name ‘sound wave therapy’ (acoustic wave therapy, or sound wave therapy for ED) before, but do you know exactly what it is, how it works, and how it could benefit you? Sound or acoustic wave therapy is a safe, comfortable, and proven medical treatment that has been used for years, successfully treating many conditions. These include Tennis Elbow, Achilles Tendonitis, Plantar Fasciitis, and Erectile Dysfunction (ED) and Peyronies.
What is Sound Wave Therapy, and How Does it Work?
Sound wave therapy uses high frequency, low-intensity sound waves to improve blood flow and break up blockages within the body. These sound waves work by triggering the body’s natural healing process to help treat soft tissue and arterial congestion.
Sound wave therapy decongests aged blood vessels and stimulates new blood vessel growth, a process known as angiogenesis. The new blood vessel formation improves the blood flow to the problematic or painful area.
There are two different sound wave therapies available – radial wave and more focused linear wave. Radial can be more beneficial to certain conditions, whereas linear is better suited to other problems. Therefore, it’s essential to know the difference between them.
Radial Wave
Radial wave therapy, also known as acoustic wave therapy, produces a shallower but wider beam, and is ideally suited for breaking up blockages in the blood vessels caused by plaque. Radial waves have a softer shock, slower impulse, and lower energy density than linear waves. The conical shape allows for more efficient treatment of larger areas as compared to linear waves.
Acoustic wave therapy penetrates between 3-4 cm from the skin’s surface. The deeper the waves go into the body, the more power it loses; therefore, radial proves most effective for superficial pain or for opening up blockages that impede blood flow.
Linear Wave
Linear wave (or focused shockwave) therapy is produced electromagnetically and has a fast impulse and higher energy density. Linear waves penetrate deep into the tissues and joints, as far as 12cm. It is therefore ideally suited to deep therapy necessary for problems with hips, shoulders, etc. The beam is narrower and can be used to precisely treat a specific area.
Linear waves also produce a cavitation release of nitric oxide, which increases cell metabolism, and produces anti-inflammatory effects. This technology works well with conditions affecting the deep tissues.
How Does Sound Wave Therapy Treat Erectile Dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction is commonly a vascular problem that restricts blood flow to the penis and damages the blood vessels. With inadequate blood flow, blood prematurely empties from the penis, causing a weak erection or inabilitiy to maintain one.
Because sound wave therapy stimulates the growth of new blood vessels, sound wave therapy for ED can successfully increase blood flow to the penis. It does this by focusing the energy on this area to improve blood flow there.
Once the blood flow has increased and sustained, patients often find they can achieve and maintain erections again with no issues. As the therapy targets the problem by repairing the damaged blood vessels rather than just treating the symptoms, men can achieve natural erections again without medication, injections, or surgery.
What to Expect from Sound Wave Therapy for ED
Sound wave therapy is an FDA-cleared procedure performed by a qualified technician using state-of-the-art technology and equipment. It is 100% safe, non-invasive, and has no adverse side effects. During a treatment session, the technician will apply the energy pulses to very specific areas in order to break up blockages and initiate the angiogenesis process.
Sound wave therapy for ED has an 80-85% success rate and is clinically proven to provide long-lasting results. Most ED patients who have twice-weekly 30-minute sessions for four to eight weeks enjoy effective results for many years.
At Flagstone Medical, we have the latest technology radial and linear wave machines. Other clinics that only offer one or the other will tout their method as the ‘be all, end all’, but we at Flagstone believe that different problems require different solutions, which is why we offer both types of Wave Therapy. So, if you’re wondering if sound wave therapy could benefit you, give us a call to discuss your options today.
