Shockwave therapy could help injured muscles heal, study finds
 

Shockwave therapy could help injured muscles heal, study finds
http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/t...6&q=60&o=f&l=fShockwave therapy already — used to treat tendon and ligament damage — could also help athletes recover from muscle injuries, an Austrian study has found. The technique, called Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT), involves applying low-frequency shockwaves to areas of damage. It's already showing promising results in the treatment of tendon and ligament injuries. Previous studies have found that tendon damage is linked to a process of degradation rather than inflammation of the tendons. As a result, the pain often returns when patients stop taking anti-inflammatory treatments. A new animal-based study **w suggests that shockwave therapy could also accelerate the healing process for damaged muscles. A team of researchers from the University of Salzburg, Austria, tested ESWT in the treatment of muscle damage, a common injury among competitive athletes. Low-frequency shockwaves were applied to the area of damage at a rate of around one pulse per second. The waves mechanically stimulate tissue, "recruiting" stem cells to get to work on repairing damage. This starts a process leading to the formation of new muscle fibres. The technique is painless, has ** side effects, and treats injuries with ** medication and ** need for local anesthetics. The scientists believe that this kind of treatment, based on a program of 15-minute sessions, could be used to complement traditional techniques such as physiotherapy. The results were presented at the annual meeting of the "Society of Experimental Biology".