Personally written by Dr. Milan Lassiter, Chiropractor, 1303 W. Main St., Richmond, VA, Tel #: (804) 254-5765
Radial Pulse Therapy has also been dubbed ShockWave Therapy, but it’s a mis-nomer because there is no “shock” involved. It uses an instrument to create pulsing waves, similar to throwing a rock into a pond and creating ripples in the water. Think of Radial Pulse Therapy as creating those same type of ripples in the soft tissues (muscle, fascia, tendons, ligaments, bursae, connective tissue), penetrating deeply down and spreading out as they go deeper. These “ripples” are actually rhythmic waves that are delivered into scar tissue and adhesive tissue, breaking it up over a 5-10 minute treatment. The German Radial Pulse unit that we use has a “soft” option, which makes it very effective while being very comfortable.
I particularly like shockwave therapy for chronic soft tissue conditions. Treating soft tissue conditions in the acute phase is much easier than treating those conditions once they have become chronic. The challenge with treating long-standing problems is that scar tissue and adhesions, once in the chronic stage, are either becoming permanent or are permanent. This makes most traditional treatment methods less effective and may be the reason why you’ve tried many different therapies, but nothing has worked.
The initial minute of treatment stimulates chemicals that release natural pain-killers in the body. The reaction from the treatment is usually that the skin will turn red and feel warm, often with mild post-treatment soreness for a day or two. This type of therapy is so deep that it can only be used once every 4 or 5 days.
Our other soft tissue treatments, such as Active Release Technique (ART) and Graston Technique, are state-of-the-art soft tissue therapies. However, with tough, chronic cases, ART and Graston are even more effective if the problem area has been pre-treated with the deeper, more high intensity mechanical energy from the shockwave therapy. No one else in Richmond has this cutting-edge therapy.
I first became aware of this therapy from my friend of mine in NJ who is one of the chiropractors for the NY Jets. He works very similarly to me, using a lot of manual therapies such as Active Release Technique, Graston Technique, and chiropractic adjustments. He has been using shockwave therapy for over 10 years and has a huge sports practice, working with high level runners, tri-athletes, and other athletes in all types of sports. When he first started working with the NY Jets, he was taking his shockwave unit back and forth to their training camp. After a year of using it with the Jets, their training staff found shockwave therapy to be so effective that they went out and bought a few Radial Pulse Therapy units for treating their athletes.
