Rompe JD, Furia JP, Maffulli N
J Bone Joint Surg Am 2009;37:463-470

If the effectiveness of eccentric loading and extracorporeal shock wave therapy separately has been proven, this study aims at knowing if the combination of both these methods can improve results in patients suffering from midbody Achilles tendinopathy. 

Söller F.
In: Maier M, Gillesberger F: Abstracts 2003 zur Muskuloskelettalen Stosswellentherapie. Norderstedt 2003; 121-122

This study aims at demonstrating what are the short and medium-term results of shock wave therapy. (Study in German)

Krischnek O, Hopf C, Nate b, et al.
Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 1999; 62-66

This study shows the results of a shock wave treatment on patients suffering from chronic medial epicondylitis one year after the original treatment. 

Rompe JD, Segal NA, Cacchio A, et al.
Am J Sports Med 2009;37 1981-1990

RSWT® is a safe and effective method of treating greater trochanteric pain syndrome. DolorClast® Radial Shock Waves provided better results in a shorter time than home training.  

This randomized controlled clinical trial study aimed to determine whether local corticosteroid injection, home training, and repetitive low-energy shock wave therapy provide outcomes of equal value four months from baseline. 
 

Furia JP, Rompe JD, Maffulli N.
Am J Sports Med 2009;37:1806-1813

RSWT® is a safe and effective modality in the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS). Satisfactory improvement is maintained for at least 1 year!

Crupnik J.
Abstracts 12th International Congress of the International Society for Musculoskeletal Shockwave Therapy, Sorrento, Italy, 2009, 26-27

Treatment of patellar tendinopathy in combination with extracorporeal shock wave therapy with eccentric loading. 

Lohrer H, SchÖll J, Arentz S
Sportverl Sportschad 2002; 16: 108-114

"Achillodynia and patellar tip syndrome - results of the treatment of fully treated chronic cases with radial shock waves." (Study in German)

Titov VV, Litvinenko A
Abstracts 10th International Congress of the International Society for Musculoskeletal Shockwave Therapy, Toronto, Canada, 2007, pp. 46-47

Engebretsen K, Grotle M, Bautz-Holter E, et al.
Brit Med J 2009; 339:b3360

Comparison of the recovery of patients suffering from shoulder pain with two different methods: extracorporeal shock wave therapy and supervised exercises. 

Magosch P, Lichtenberg S, Habermeyer P
Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb 2003;  141 : 629-636

"Radial shock wave therapy of rotator cuff tendinosis calcarea - A prospective study." (Study in German)

Gremion G, Augros R, Gobelet C, et al.
2000

Effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy in calcifying tendinitis of the shoulder. (Study in French)

Bjordal JM, Lopes-Martins RAB, Iversen VVA

British Journal of Sports Medicine 2006;40:76-80.

Randomised, placebo controlled study to investigate in situ if low-level laser therapy has an anti-inflammatory effect on activated tendinitis of the human Achilles tendon.
 

Shuji Mezawa, Koichi Iwata, Kimisato Naito, Hiroyuki Kamogawa
Archives of Oral Biology, Volume 33, Issue 9, 1988,pages 693-694

The possible analgesic effect of soft-laser irradiation on heat nociceptors in the cat tongue

Prof. Dr. med. Christoph Schmitz
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Research Unit, Chair of Neuroanatomy, Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a well-investigated and commonly used treatment modality in remedying a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. However, a limitation of ESWT is its potential risk for painfulness at higher, clinically relevant energy flux densities (EFDs), which may limit its applicability and resultingly, its effectiveness. 
E.M.S. is combatting this limitation with the Guided DolorClast® Therapy protocol, a comprehensively holistic approach towards musculoskeletal pain therapy. GDT includes a 6-step guidance program based on combined therapies, including the DolorClast® High Power Laser and the DolorClast® Radial Shock Waves devices. The following article provides clinical evidence for pursuit of this approach.

Ya-Fei ZHANG, MD, Yang LIU, MD, Shao-Wen CHOU, MD and Hao WENG, PhD
From the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Aerospace Center Hospital, Beijing, China

Xuejiao Guo¹, Lin Li1,², Zhe Yan¹, Yunze Li¹, Zhiyou Peng¹, Yixin Yang¹, Yanfeng Zhang¹, Christoph Schmitz³, Zhiying Feng¹
_{1Department of Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Yuyao People Hospital of Zhejiang, Ningbo, China; 3Extracorporeal Shock Wave Research Unit, Chair of Neuroanatomy, Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany}

Successful treatment of a chronic nonspecific low back pain is a challenge. Should we use manual therapy? Drugs? How about radial extracorporeal shockwaves? In a recent study, Guo et al. tried to find out whether rESWT is more efficient in the management of chronic low back pain than a “drugs only” approach, using an NSAID and a skeletal muscle relaxant. They also searched for evidence if a combination of rESWT with  NSAIDs and skeletal muscle relaxants can represent a superior treatment option, as anecdotal evidence from physicians from Europe and Latin America is pointing at. What was the conclusion and how it may impact your everyday practice? Keep reading and find out.

James P.M. Morgan et al. 
Germany

Application of the multimodal therapy approach, including a protocol with almost daily radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) led to faster recovery time as compared with previously published studies!

RSWT® combined with physical therapy enables better and faster pain reduction, grip strength increase, functional improvement and tendon tear healing, than physical therapy alone.

Plantar fascia-specific stretching exercises in combination with repetitive radial shock wave treatment (RSWT®) are superior to RSWT® as monotherapy.

Rompe JD, Nafe B, Furia JP, Maffulli N
Am J Sports Med 2007;35:374-383

A series of controlled trials analyze the functioning of different methods in the handling of chronic tendinopathy of the main body of tendo Achillis.

Ibrahim M, Donatelli R, Schmitz C, et al.
Foot & Ankle Int. 2010 May; 31 (5):391-97 20460065

Radial shock wave therapy has been demonstrated to be an effective method to treat chronic plantar fasciopathy in three sessions. This study aims at showing that two sessions are already sufficient to treat this pathology with ESWT. 

Gerdesmeyer L, Frey C, Vester J, et al.
Am J Sports Med 2008;36:2100- 2109

Chronic plantar fasciopathy can be treated efficiently with radial shock wave therapy, which can be administered to outpatients without having to reccur to anesthesia. This randomized controlled trial aims at demonstrating therapeutic superiority vs. placebo.