The 2016 Olympic Games have come and gone quickly—The metropolitan area of Rio (which was bustling with athletes from across the globe for the past few months) has quieted down significantly, and locals may not see as boisterous a crowd in their homeland again until its notorious Carnaval festival takes place at the end of February 2017.

Athletes who have spent years gearing up for this highly anticipated competition of sports are now back at home either training for their next rigorous match/duel/game or, unfortunately, recovering from the trauma and stress their bodies recently endured while competing in Brazil.
But whether each Olympian resumes training or is simply rehabilitating from his/her beloved sport, there is one thing for many of them that remains constant: the use of acoustic wave therapy, to ensure optimal health as well as peak performance (should he or she anticipate participating in challenging activities once again).
2016 is not the first year professional athletes have taken advantage of acoustic wave therapy such as The Miracle Wave® technology, however.
This method of treatment was also used on Olympic athletes during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens as well as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. And clearly, because competitors have experienced superior results in addition to practically no down time for recovery, it’s been ideal for many and still continues to be a successful therapy for various sports-related injuries outside of Olympic villages worldwide.

Three common Olympic sports injuries radial sound waves can help treat include:
1) KNEE PROBLEMS
Tendinopathies are typical diagnoses found among athletes’ knee problems. One of the most common conditions, patellar tendinopathy, can be dramatically improved by acoustic wave therapy treatment.
A recent study by three researchers in the Netherlands reviewed more than half a dozen trials of ultrasonic sound waves for the treatment of patellar tendinitis. Because no adverse effects or complications were identified during their research, the study’s authors were led to recommend this type of therapy not only as an alternative to surgery in chronic cases, but as their top choice of treatment, even for less severe cases of patellar tendinitis.
One of the world’s most recognized rugby players from New Zealand’s >>All Blacks<< national team, Dan Carter, is also a huge proponent of AWT for patellar tendinopathy. He, too, claims he has benefited greatly from this treatment.
2) ELBOW INJURIES
Lateral elbow pain such as tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis is one of the most common repetitive motion injuries today. In four recent studies documented by healthcare provider Aetna, several observations reflected improvement with the use of AWT compared to placebo therapy.
Additional studies also conducted on subjects with lateral epicondylitis showed improvement in pain, function and grip strength upon receiving acoustic wave treatment.Ukrainian gymnast Ihor Radivilov has continuously undergone treatment similar to The Miracle Wave® technology for injuries to his elbow, shoulder and ankle, and reportedly raves about the efficacy of this type of therapy.
3) HEEL PAIN
Although originally developed to dissolve kidney stones, acoustic wave therapy has also been known to provide optimal relief when directed from outside the body onto the heel of the foot (sending sound waves into an athlete’s foot can stimulate the body’s healing process by overstimulating nerves, reducing sensitivity and decreasing overall pain in the foot).
In a double-blind trial among 40 participants with chronic painful heel syndrome, therapy using acoustic waves resulted in a 73.2% reduction in composite heel pain along with noticeable changes in pain levels and no relevant adverse effects were reported.
British field hockey player Crista Cullen claims she was able to significantly reduce her heel pain and go on to compete in the 2012 Olympics after receiving regular treatments of AWT prior to playing in London’s summer games.
Regardless of athletic caliber or the severity of a sports injury, acoustic waves have (for years) been considered valuable in treating many different musculoskeletal disorders such as plantar fasciitis, epicondylitis and tendinitis. In fact in most situations, AWT is considered the most ideal non-invasive alternative to surgery, mainly because there are little to no side effects and there’s practically no downtime involved.

Additionally, many patients undergoing AWT treatment with technology like The Miracle Wave® are able to feel significantly less pain, and resume daily activities almost immediately.
If you’re currently experiencing joint or musculoskeletal pain or are a healthcare professional and believe your patients could benefit from The Miracle Wave®, CLICK HERE to learn about implementing this technology in your practice today.

References: 
http://www.medicalsportsnetwork.com/archive/829794/Shock-wave-therapy-in-sports.html
http://www.rio-carnival.net/
https://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/is-shockwave-therapy-an-effective-treatment-option-for-chronic-running-injuries/
http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/600_699/0649.html
https://heelthatpain.com/other-treatments/eswt-extracorporeal-shock-wave-therapy-heel-pain/
http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/3165
https://heelthatpain.com/plantar-fasciitis-famous-athletes/
http://effectiveshockwavetherapy.com/?p=249
http://columbusfoot.com/2012/08/send-your-heel-pain-into-retreat-with-shock-waves/