Shockwave Treatment In Hampstead

When Julia’s Achilles tendon pain stopped her from running, she thought her dream of completing her first London Marathon was over. Julia sought help from BOOST PHYSIO in May 2022, she had already raised over £1,000 of sponsorship for her favourite charity. Julia had rapidly increased her weekly running mileage, running 10km four times a week. She had developed Achilles pain during her three previous training runs.  The pain had been getting worse each run and had stopped her from being able to run at all.

“It was clear that Julia was anxious about her Achilles pain- this is a common injury where the tendon at the back of the calf connecting the calf muscle to the heel becomes painful.  She had so many questions: will I be able to run the marathon, should I stop training, should I stretch, should I use pain killers, do I need to change my running shoes?” recalls Tom Stedman, Specialist Physiotherapist from BOOST PHYSIO.

When injury or pain stops people from doing the things they need to do it can be devastating and an anxious time.  “Julia progressed her weekly running mileage too quickly which caused her Achilles tendon to become inflamed” says Tom.   After conducting his assessment of Julia’s injury, Tom started treatment to help the recovery during the first appointment with a combination of hands on treatments, k-taping and things for Julia to do at home.

Tom was able to answer Julia’s questions and created a treatment plan and training plan for Julia which initially involved swimming and cycling to maintain fitness while allowing the tendon time to recover and improve.

Research has shown Shockwave Therapy to be an effective treatment for Achilles tendon pain. Shockwave Therapy is approved by NICE, but it is not readily available from the NHS.  Julia benefited from three Shockwave Therapy treatments at BOOST PHYSIO which together with all the other treatments, advice and exercises aided the recovery of her tendon.

After 4 physiotherapy treatments over 4 weeks Julia is back on track for her first London Marathon on 2 October 2022, having returned to running 10km with no pain.  Julia has been guided by the team at BOOST PHYSIO about how to manage her training load and gradually build up her weekly running mileage.

Getting professional help for injuries quickly means that one can start the journey to recovery immediately by getting accurate professional guidance. People find it anxious waiting for an appointment, not knowing what the problem is or what they could be doing to help themselves.  BOOST PHYSIO offers same day appointments between 8am and 9pm at their 6 clinics across London.  No referral is needed

“As a London Marathon Injury Clinic, it is a privilege to be helping runners of all abilities work towards achieving their goals” adds Steven Berkman, founder of BOOST PHYSIO.