Shockwave therapy works by stimulating your body’s natural healing process. Using our advanced Chattanooga device, we deliver controlled acoustic waves through the skin to precise depths. These waves create a targeted microtrauma—or controlled “injury”—in the affected tissue.

This process triggers a localised inflammatory response. While inflammation often gets a bad reputation, it’s actually a vital part of recovery. It kick-starts a cascade of healing activity—a “chemical soup” of growth factors, increased blood flow, and tissue repair signals. In essence, shockwave therapy gives your body a second chance to heal a stubborn or slow-to-recover injury.

We strongly recommend avoiding anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or naproxen during your course of shockwave therapy—unless specifically advised otherwise by your clinician.

Shockwave therapy works by triggering a controlled inflammatory response in the targeted tissue, which is essential for stimulating natural healing. In many chronic conditions, the original inflammation subsided without resolving the issue, leaving behind pain that isn’t necessarily inflammatory in nature. This is often why anti-inflammatory medications may not have helped in the past.

Taking anti-inflammatories during or shortly after shockwave therapy can suppress this healing response and reduce the treatment’s effectiveness. Your clinician will guide you on when it’s safe to resume medications if needed, ensuring the best possible outcome from your sessions.

In short—yes, to some degree. Most people feel some discomfort during treatment, but it’s manageable and short-lived. When shockwave therapy was first introduced, the trend was to use the highest possible intensity to provoke a strong inflammatory response. While that approach can still be effective, modern practice aims to strike a better balance between comfort and therapeutic benefit.

If you feel nothing at all, the intensity may be too low to stimulate a response. On the other hand, if it’s overly painful, your therapist will adjust the settings to ensure it’s tolerable while still effective. Generally, the more sensitive or irritated the area is, the less intensity you'll tolerate. Areas with less soft tissue—especially near bone—tend to feel sharper during treatment.

I will always work with you to find the right level, ensuring the treatment is both effective and as comfortable as possible.

This is an excellent question—and the honest answer is: it depends. Healing is influenced by a range of individual factors, including your physiology, pain sensitivity, overall health, and even lifestyle. That’s why we don’t offer a one-size-fits-all answer.

As a general guide, most patients benefit from 4 to 6 sessions but some may be less, others more. If you're improving after 3-4 sessions but not fully recovered, we may recommend a few more. However, if there's little or no change after 3 to 4 sessions, we’ll reassess whether shockwave therapy is right for your condition.

Before any treatment begins, I always carry out a thorough assessment. With over 25 years of experience in musculoskeletal rehabilitation, I'm careful to ensure that shockwave therapy is clinically appropriate, safe, and genuinely in your best interest. If I feel it’s not the right fit, I will explain why and suggest alternative treatment options.

Shockwave therapy isn’t a miracle cure—but when used appropriately, it can be a powerful tool for resolving stubborn conditions.

In most cases, I do not recommend shockwave therapy for acute (recent) injuries—generally those less than six weeks old. While some clinics may offer it in the early stages, I base my approach on current clinical evidence and a strong commitment to using only well-justified treatments.

Shockwave therapy works by triggering a controlled inflammatory response in tissue that has failed to heal properly. But in a fresh injury, your body is already going through its natural healing process—and interrupting that by re-injuring the tissue too soon could be counterproductive.

Instead, I typically recommend more supportive, tissue-friendly treatments in the early phase of recovery. These can help optimise natural healing without unnecessary disruption. This will all be carefully discussed with you during your initial assessment to ensure you receive the most appropriate care for your stage of injury.

Yes, you can—but I generally recommend waiting around 24 hours before applying ice after shockwave therapy.

Unlike anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or naproxen, ice produces a much milder anti-inflammatory effect. This means it’s less likely to interfere with the body’s healing response triggered by the treatment.

Ice can also relieve pain through other mechanisms—such as numbing nerve endings and reducing local sensitivity—making it a helpful, drug-free way to manage discomfort. I will advise you on whether ice is appropriate for your condition and how best to use it for optimal recovery.

Yes, you certainly can. To simplify this process, we upgraded to a brand-new practice management system in April 2024, making it much more user-friendly for you.

We recommend registering as a patient via our online booking system before scheduling your appointments. This allows you to not only book your sessions but also receive and complete your pre-assessment forms through your own secure account. Additionally, you can pay for services, access receipts, and more, making your entire journey more dynamic and giving you greater control.

If you have registered for an online account, you can access your payment receipts directly by logging in. If you haven't set up an online account or this option is unavailable, please contact our secretary, Jen, at 01536 697989, or email us at info@teamrehab.uk. We will be happy to provide you with a receipt via email.

Absolutely. All of our physiotherapists are highly experienced practitioners, registered with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Health & Care Professions Council. You can verify each practitioner's individual registration by searching on the governing body's website.

Yes, no problem. Currently, our physiotherapists work at different locations, so switching will mean you need to change practitioners. However, all of our therapists are clinical specialists, so this will not be an issue. All your patient records are kept on our digital system, allowing our therapists to access them from either site.

If you wish to switch locations or have a specific session at an alternative location, please inform us. This allows the physiotherapists to provide a brief handover, ensuring you receive the best care regardless of where you go or who you see.

We are currently registered with most major insurance companies, with the exception of Nuffield Health, due to historical remuneration practices in relation to clinics outside of their direct control, that we are not comfortable with.

If you are using private health insurance for your treatment with us, we recommend contacting your insurance company directly. They can advise you on their specific policies and procedures for obtaining authorisation. Once you have authorisation, you will be provided with a specific code. Along with your policy number, we will use this code to invoice your insurer directly.

This is a vital question to ask. Most of our treatments fall under a physiotherapy code, although some, like shockwave therapy, have their own unique packages.

As part of our contract with private medical companies, we are not permitted to discuss their agreed charges. Any questions regarding costs should be directed to your provider. We have no issue with them providing you with this information.

A common point clients often overlook is the policy excess, which both personal and business accounts are likely to have. Similar to car and home insurance, excesses help lower your monthly contributions and are therefore common.

We only learn about any excesses when your insurance company informs us after receiving our invoice. In this case, we will simply redirect the outstanding amount to you, which you will be liable to pay. Remember, excesses typically renew annually as well.

For any information on this, you must contact your private medical insurer directly, as we have no responsibility or knowledge over this matter. It is part of your contractual agreement with them.

Yes, in fact most of our clients are self pay for their session rather via private medical insurance. All of our fees can be found on the services page.

One-to-one physiotherapy sessions are covered by most private medical insurance companies, but you should check with your individual provider before booking any sessions.

More specialised treatments, such as shockwave therapy or muscle stimulation, may require unique authorisation codes. Again, please confirm with your insurer.

Services such as Phits gait analysis, 3D printed orthotics, and running analysis are typically not covered by insurance companies and would need to be funded on a self-pay basis. Similarly, insurance companies usually do not cover class rehabilitation sessions, so you will need to check with your provider. However, this is generally not an issue, as private medical insurance often allows for 1:1 physiotherapy sessions instead of classes anyway.