Pain is funny—not in a "haha" way, but in a "why does my child suddenly have the shoulder of a 90-year-old retired pitcher?" kind of way. My daughter, a 13-year-old volleyball player with Diablo Volleyball in Walnut Creek, found herself in just that predicament. A middle blocker with a strong serve, she could no longer raise her right arm without pain, which, in volleyball, is a bit of a problem.
We did what any patient would do: we followed the traditional path. Physical therapy at Shadelands. Hours in waiting rooms. Weeks of stretching, strengthening, and missing school. No change. Next stop: an orthopedic specialist, who insisted that physical therapy was the only necessary treatment and the only viable option. Another round of physical therapy, but still no progress.
Frustrated with the lack of results, I reached out to one of my clients and asked Dr. Paul Kim at the Medical Institute of Healthy Aging in Walnut Creek for his opinion. Paul’s daughter also plays volleyball at Diablo, so he understood the physical demands of the sport. Among his arsenal of regenerative treatments? Shockwave therapy, which sounded like something out of a superhero origin story. Paul reviewed her X-rays, assessed her movements, and declared, “Shockwave therapy could help.”
And help, it did. After one treatment, the pain improved. Two treatments later, she was back on the court and able to raise both her arms. Three treatments later, she was able to hit again. After her fourth treatment, my daughter got her serve back and has been playing without any pain or restrictions!
Shockwave therapy, originally developed using ultrasound-based technology, delivers targeted pulses of acoustic energy to a specific area of the body.
According to Paul, shockwave therapy has been used in traditional medicine for a long time, but it is now being adopted to support joint health by stimulating the body’s natural healing response.
“It's basically creating a little bit of a minor trauma for the body to recognize an area as that is in increased need of nutrients and blood flow,” says Paul. “Shockwave brings attention to that area.”
He says modern shockwave therapy devices emit focused pulses that penetrate deep into the body, far deeper than traditional ultrasound imaging or therapeutic tools used in chiropractic care.
Treatment protocols vary depending on the severity of the condition.
“Traditionally, with the original kind of therapy for minor arthritis and for early changes related to, like a sprain or some joint dysfunction, it probably just requires three to four treatments,” he says. “But if it has major degenerative joints, and you're trying to get much more, you may require 10 to 20 treatments, to get that therapy to recognize the body needs to start healing it.”
He adds that shockwave therapy is meant to help people avoid further damage to the weight-bearing and activity joints by healing them early.
When asked about side effects, Paul said the shockwave therapy has minimal side effects.
“Some people might experience mild skin irritation, but we've not had any major side effects noted from people who underwent this therapy," he says.