6 reasons to add shockwave therapy as a clinic revenue stream

Today’s health care consumers are looking for natural, drug-free solutions for their painful conditions which shockwave therapy provides

All types of health care providers are utilizing shockwave therapy to deliver smoother and faster treatment to their patients while improving long-term outcomes of chronic pain, sports-related injuries, sprains and strains, scar tissue and adhesions, bone spurs, bursitis and tendonitis, back and neck pain, plantar fasciitis, TMJ, stress fractures and more.

Shockwave is still relatively new to the chiropractic market and is quickly becoming a popular modality in the world of physical medicine. Shockwave therapy utilizes the physical properties of sonic pressure waves to produce its therapeutic result. These sound waves are short pressure pulses directed into a target tissue to produce therapeutic benefits including pain mitigation, plaque obliteration, and elasticity renewal without drugs or invasive surgical procedures.

Many patients notice significant improvement or even resolution of their problem after just a few visits and some get full relief after just one treatment.

Shockwave: an addition to chiropractic care

Since shockwave therapy is an exceptional modality to include in treatment plans for numerous conditions affecting muscles and tendons, it is an excellent addition to the chiropractor’s toolbox.

Shockwave’s pulsating pressure breaks up and disperses scar tissue and increases the blood flow to local tissue, which in turn reduces pain and inflammation. It also promotes quicker recovery after strenuous exercise, injury or surgery, thereby reducing the burden for rehabilitation and the associated costs of long physical therapy programs.¹

Physical medicine started adapting shockwave therapy for orthopedic and soft tissue conditions during the 1970s. Originally, shockwave was used in modern medicine as a treatment of kidney stones. The pulse or shock waves were directed at in-vitro kidney stones to break larger stones into smaller stones without harming the surrounding tissue and allowing the patient to pass the stones without the need of surgical intervention. It proved to be quite successful, and shockwave therapy quickly gained fame with many urologists.

Five decades after the introduction of shockwaves in medical practice, its use has expanded to include a broad range of therapeutic musculoskeletal soft-tissue applications commonly seen by many chiropractors.²

Shockwave is a non-invasive musculoskeletal modality that has demonstrated a very impressive track record that is extremely safe with very few reported long-term side effects. This equates to fast, effective treatment for both short-term and long-term injury healing. So, if you’re looking for something new and effective to help your patients and build your bottom line, here are six reasons to consider shockwave therapy:

1. Improved patient outcomes = more referrals, improved retention

Patients commonly experience improvements after just one shockwave treatment.

Since the results are frequently immediate, patients are far more likely to complete their full recommended treatment plan and are also more likely to recommend shockwave to their friends and family.

Since it can provide a fast solution to a chronic condition that has been resistant to other modalities and forms of therapy, patients are very likely to recommend shockwave to friends with chronic pain and those being treated with other modalities who may not be improving.³

2. Extend your professional career

Unlike manual adjusting, performing shockwave therapy does not cause strain on the provider’s back, arms or hands. Just place the handpiece over the area of the patient’s pain or problem and the modality does all the work.

The patient’s end result is very similar to the deep tissue tools and techniques that require a lot of effort on the part of the practitioner. It would be very possible for a chiropractor to add shockwave and build or maintain a large practice providing nothing other than shockwave therapy.

3. See more patients

The average patient’s shockwave treatment time is 6-10 minutes, including prep and cleanup.

This modality can be performed by a trained chiropractic assistant, and as stated above, it can be performed without a chiropractic adjustment. It would be easy to add a niche shockwave practice inside your chiropractic practice that could be provided by a CA without need of adding an associate doctor.

4. People are searching for shockwave

In today’s age of information, people search out treatment options for their pain or health conditions. Shockwave therapy is cited in the current research and is recommended as an ideal therapy for many of the conditions they are researching, so they’re interested and are looking for it in your area right now.

Today’s health care consumers are looking for natural, drug-free solutions for their painful conditions. Shockwave therapy offers these potential patients long-term results for both their painful acute and chronic conditions. Be their solution in your town.

5. Produce new revenue

In the U.S., shockwave is almost always a cash service and the average doctor or therapist bills somewhere between $75-150 per treatment session. Many doctors add shockwave to existing treatment plans as an additional therapy or as a faster, replacement solution for other less-effective modalities.

6. Simple to implement

Shockwave therapy is very quick and easy to learn. The best machines are very intuitive for the practitioner and are an extension of what hands-on therapists already do, so most practitioners can be treating patients the same day the device arrives.

Modern shockwave machines will have a full onboard protocol list with full-color imagery and instructions. You should also consider buying from a distributor with resources like marketing and help videos to get you up and running quickly.

Offer a cutting-edge modality with shockwave

Today’s health care industry is changing very quickly. The days of offering basic electrotherapy and ultrasound are gone forever for the clinics and doctors who want to stay relevant and cutting-edge.

Your current patients, prospective patients in your community, and potential referrers are looking for doctors and clinics that offer effective cutting-edge modalities like shockwave therapy and therapeutic laser as solutions. Investing in shockwave therapy can bring new life to your clinic and town including a new revenue stream, more patients, better outcomes and increased referrals, and could reinvigorate your clinic and your life. Get started right now helping patients improve from conditions you have turned away in the past.

DAVID BOHN, DC, graduated from National University of Health Sciences (formerly National College of Chiropractic) in 1988 and has since been in continuous practice. Since 2004 he has pursued development of both documentation and X-ray analysis software. He has extensive experience with developing, marketing and maintaining a successful practice, and is an instructor for KDT Decompression Therapy Seminars. For more information, go to kdttechnique.com/upcoming-seminars.