Is Shockwave Therapy Right for Your Knee Pain?
By Dr. Joseph Mejia, DO, FAAPM&R, RMSK
Medical Director, Performance Ortho Watchung
If your knee pain has lingered despite rest, physical therapy, or other conservative treatments, it’s easy to feel like you’ve run out of viable options. Maybe you’ve found some relief, but your pain never fully resolved. Maybe you’re hoping to avoid surgery, or simply trying to understand what else might help before considering a more invasive procedure.
Focused shockwave therapy, also known as ESWT, is an FDA-cleared, innovative and non-invasive treatment option for chronic knee pain which can help delay or avoid major surgery. It’s a non-surgical treatment that requires no downtime, and for the right patient, it can meaningfully reduce pain as part of a broader, personalized treatment plan.
What is Focused Shockwave Therapy?
Focused shockwave therapy works by delivering targeted acoustic sound waves into injured or degenerated tissue. The energy stimulates the body’s natural healing response, helping repair damaged tissue without surgery, incisions, or medication.
Unlike older radial-wave treatments, focused shockwave energy can reach deeper structures such as tendons and the joint itself, making it an effective option for several common causes of knee pain, including but not limited to:
- Knee Osteoarthritis (“bone-on-bone” arthritis)
- Jumper’s Knee
- Runner’s Knee
- Meniscus Tears
- Knee Bursitis
How Can Shockwave Therapy Help Knee Pain?
During treatment, the focused acoustic sound waves create controlled micro-traumas that stimulate the body’s natural healing response by increasing blood flow, calming inflammation, and encouraging tissue repair over weeks of treatment and rest.
For patients, this can translate into meaningful, real-world benefits:
- Relief from persistent knee pain and stiffness
- Improved mobility and joint function
- Greater comfort during everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, or standing for long periods
- A path back to exercise and the activities you enjoy, without medication, injections, or surgery
Medical research backs this up. A review of medical findings across multiple orthopedic journals found consistent evidence that shockwave therapy improves pain and function in knee osteoarthritis. A separate 2024 review went a step further, claiming that shockwave therapy outperformed several non-surgical knee pain treatments for knee osteoarthritis, including corticosteroid and hyaluronic acid injections
Dr. Mejia explains,
“For the right patient, shockwave therapy gives us a way to address the underlying knee tissue, not just mask the pain. When the diagnosis matches the treatment, patients are often surprised by how much function they get back without ever stepping into an operating room.”
What to Expect During Shockwave Therapy
Shockwave therapy is performed as a quick, outpatient procedure; no anesthesia, incisions, or injections are involved. Most sessions take about 8 to 10 minutes per treatment area, and patients typically describe the sensation as mild pressure or tapping with no significant pain.
Treatment is usually delivered as a series of sessions spaced over several weeks, giving your body time to respond and heal between visits. More chronic or advanced conditions may require additional sessions compared to mild injuries, and most patients receive shockwave therapy as a part of a larger overall treatment plan.
Because ESWT is non-surgical, there’s no formal recovery period. Most patients return to their normal daily activities shortly after sessions. Some notice mild soreness or tenderness in the treated area for a day or so, which typically resolves on its own. You should always check with your medical provider individually before returning to physical activity.
Physical therapy is often recommended alongside ESWT to reinforce and extend results, particularly when muscle imbalance or movement mechanics are contributing to the pain. If your condition is deemed more advanced, additional treatments such as stem cell therapy or minimally invasive procedures may be explored. Your Performance Ortho care team will help determine your specific plan based on your unique condition and recovery goals.
Where Does Shockwave Therapy fit into my Knee Treatment Plan?
Shockwave therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all treatment and is uniquely incorporated into each patient’s treatment plan. At Performance Ortho, ESWT is often used as a part of our Knee Preservation Program. This program is a step-by-step, non-surgical approach designed to reduce pain, restore function, and help patients delay—or even avoid—knee surgery whenever possible.
Before recommending shockwave therapy, our team completes a thorough evaluation and diagnostic imaging when appropriate to confirm it’s the right fit for your specific condition. From there, your treatment plan is built around your goals, whether that’s getting back to running, gardening, or simply walking without pain.
Ready to Explore if Shockwave Therapy is Right for You? Let’s Talk.
If persistent knee pain is holding you back, Performance Ortho can help determine whether focused shockwave therapy, or other non-surgical options, are right for you. Same-day appointments are available across central New Jersey, with locations in Branchburg, Hillsborough, Somerset and Watchung.
Request an appointment online or call 908-754-1960 to speak with a live agent on our patient care team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. ESWT is an FDA-cleared, non-invasive treatment with a well-established safety profile when performed by a trained clinician. As with any treatment, it isn’t appropriate for everyone. Your provider will review your health history to confirm you’re a good candidate before starting.
Most patients report little to no pain during treatment. It’s common to feel a pressure or tapping sensation over the area being treated, and no anesthesia or numbing is needed. Discomfort level can vary depending on the area treated and individual pain tolerance.
Side effects are generally mild and temporary, consisting of soreness, redness, or minor bruising in the treated area, which usually resolves within a day or two. Serious complications are rare. Your provider will screen for factors that could make ESWT inappropriate, such as pregnancy, certain blood-clotting disorders, or an active infection near the treatment site.
Cost depends on the number of sessions recommended for your condition and your insurance coverage. Performance Ortho offers free insurance verification to help you understand your specific costs before starting treatment.
Because ESWT works by stimulating your body’s own healing process, improvement tends to build gradually rather than happen overnight. Some patients notice changes within the first few sessions, but meaningful, lasting improvement is usually seen over the full course of treatment and in the weeks following the final session.
Shockwave therapy isn’t guaranteed to work for every patient or every condition. If it doesn’t provide enough relief, that’s valuable information, not a dead end. Your care team can reassess the diagnosis and adjust your plan, which may include other regenerative treatments, injections or, when appropriate, a surgical consultation.
