Extracorporeal shockwaves as regenerative therapy in orthopedic traumatology: a narrative review from basic research to clinical practice

Abstract

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT), after its first medical application in the urological field for lithotripsy, nowadays represents a valid therapeutical tool also for many musculoskeletal diseases, as well as for regenerative medicine applications. This is possible thanks to its mechanisms of action, which in the non-urological field are not related to mechanical disruption (as for renal stones), but rather to the capacity, by mechanotransduction, to induce neoangiogenesis, osteogenesis and to improve local tissue trophism, regeneration and remodeling, through stem cell stimulation. On the basis of these biological assumptions, it becomes clear that ESWT can represent a valid therapeutic tool also for all those pathological conditions that derive from musculoskeletal trauma, and are characterized by tissue loss and/or delayed healing and regeneration (mainly bone and skin, but not only). As a safe, repeatable and noninvasive therapy, in many cases it can represent a firstline therapeutic option, as an alternative to surgery (for example, in bone and skin healing disorders), or in combination with some other treatment options. It is hoped that with its use in daily practice also the muscleskeletal field will grow, not only for standard indications, but also in posttraumatic sequelae, in order to improve recovery and shorten healing time, with undoubted advantages for the patients and lower health service expenses.