Shockwave therapy
Shockwave Therapy in Singapore
Written by Zita Sham, Fairuuz Saleh and Shiv Mohan Banka, Principal Physiotherapists at Phoenix Rehab. Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist & Director, AHPC A1300363H. Last reviewed 15 October 2026.
Shockwave therapy sends pressure waves through the skin into a tendon or the tissue under the heel. The research is strongest for long-standing heel pain from plantar fasciitis and for calcium deposits in the shoulder tendons, and mixed for most other problems. We use it alongside loading exercise, never instead of it.
$50 per area added to a physiotherapy or hand therapy appointment. $120 per area booked on its own, after your first appointment. At Orchard and Tampines.
If this sounds like you
Months in, and the first step still hurts
It is usually the heel. Sometimes the Achilles, the outside of the elbow or the shoulder. The first steps out of bed are the worst, it eases by mid-morning, and it comes back after you have sat through a meeting. You have changed shoes, bought insoles, rolled a frozen water bottle under your foot and rested it for weeks.
It settles. Then you go back to the run, the walk to the MRT or the Sunday game, and it is back the next morning.
Rest calms an irritated tendon down. It does not teach it to carry load again. So each time you return to normal life, the same tissue meets the same load it could not cope with last time. The pain has had all the attention. Has anyone measured what your calf, or your forearm, can now carry?
What shockwave therapy is
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) uses a handheld probe, pressed on the skin over a layer of gel, to deliver short pressure pulses into the tissue underneath. Each area takes a few minutes. Most people describe it as strong, fast tapping: uncomfortable while it is happening, and over once the probe lifts.
There are two kinds. Radial shockwave spreads out from the probe and works at shallower depths. Focused shockwave converges on a point and reaches deeper. Which is used depends on where the problem is.
What it is used for, and what the research says
Shockwave is used for tendon and soft tissue problems that have lasted months rather than weeks. The evidence is not the same for every condition, and we would rather you knew that before you pay for it.
| Problem | What the research shows |
|---|---|
| Long-standing heel pain from plantar fasciitis | Stronger. Placebo-controlled trials of both focused and radial shockwave found more improvement than sham treatment.1,2 |
| Calcium deposits in the shoulder tendons (calcific tendinopathy) | Stronger. In a controlled trial, high-energy focused shockwave reduced pain and the size of the deposit compared with sham.3 |
| Achilles tendinopathy | Mixed. Shockwave and loading exercise each did better than waiting, and adding shockwave to loading did better than loading alone.4,5 |
| Pain on the outside of the hip | Mixed. One controlled trial found benefit. The evidence is thinner than for the heel.6 |
| Jumper’s knee (patellar tendinopathy) | Weak in athletes still competing. A trial in volleyball, basketball and handball players found no difference from sham.7 |
| Tennis elbow | Weak. A Cochrane review found little or no benefit over placebo.8 |
If you have heel pain that is worst for the first few steps out of bed, this is what that pattern usually means, and the page on plantar fasciitis and how physiotherapy treats it covers the loading side. For pain on the outside of the elbow, see tennis elbow. Because the evidence for shockwave is weakest at the elbow, we start the elbow with loading, and add shockwave only if loading alone has not been enough.
Why it is never the whole plan
A tendon that has been painful for months has lost its tolerance for load. Shockwave can take the edge off the pain; it does not build that tolerance back. Graded loading exercise does, and that is the part of the plan that carries on after the shockwave stops. So shockwave is added to a physiotherapy or hand therapy appointment that includes hands-on treatment and exercise, rather than sold as a treatment on its own.
The trials behind it mostly used shockwave in people who had already tried other treatment for months. If your tendon has never had a structured loading program, that comes first. If it has, properly and for long enough, and it is still limited, shockwave becomes a reasonable addition. How we decide between shockwave and ultrasound, or neither.
When shockwave is not suitable
We screen for these at your first appointment, which is why shockwave can only be booked on its own after that. Tell your therapist if any of them apply:
- You are pregnant
- You take blood-thinning medicine or have a bleeding disorder
- You have had a steroid injection into the same area recently
- You have, or have had, cancer in or near the area
- There is an infection, open wound or broken skin over the area
- You have a pacemaker, or a metal implant close to the area
- You are under 18 and the area is over a growing bone
What to expect
Your therapist marks the most tender point, applies gel and works over the area for a few minutes, adjusting the intensity to what you can tolerate. Shockwave is usually given as a short course, about a week apart. Your therapist tells you how many they suggest after the first, and checks at each appointment whether it is helping. If it is not, we stop.
Is this normal afterwards?
Usually expected
- Redness over the area for a few hours
- An ache or soreness for a day or two
- Mild bruising, most often over the heel
- A short flare of your usual pain that settles within a couple of days
Tell us, or see a doctor
- Pain that keeps getting worse over several days instead of settling: tell your therapist before the next appointment
- Numbness or tingling still there the next day: tell your therapist, and see your doctor if it does not settle
- Broken skin, blistering, or spreading redness with heat or a fever: see a doctor the same day
Who does it
Who gives shockwave
Shockwave is given by our physiotherapists and hand therapists at Orchard and Tampines. Every appointment is one-to-one with your therapist for the full 45 minutes. We do not use therapy assistants, and the person giving the shockwave is the one writing your loading program.
Mavis Tham
Principal Hand Occupational Therapist, AHPC A1800276C
Orchard, Tuesday mornings from 17 November
Shockwave therapy
Per area, added to a physiotherapy or hand therapy appointment ($230 per 45-minute appointment, nett, no GST). Booked on its own after your first appointment, $120 per area. Available at Orchard and Tampines.
Questions
Before you book
Can I book shockwave on its own?
Yes, after your first appointment. We assess you first to check there is no reason shockwave would be unsafe for you. After that it can be booked on its own at $120 per area. Most tendon problems still need loading exercise alongside it.
Does shockwave therapy hurt?
It is uncomfortable while it is happening, like strong, fast tapping on a sore spot. Your therapist adjusts the intensity to what you can tolerate. It stops as soon as the probe lifts, and some soreness for a day or two afterwards is common.
How many appointments will I need?
Shockwave is usually a short course, about a week apart. Your therapist tells you how many they suggest after the first one and checks each time whether it is helping. If it is not helping, it stops.
Which conditions have the strongest evidence for shockwave?
Long-standing heel pain from plantar fasciitis, and calcium deposits in the shoulder tendons. For Achilles and outer hip pain the evidence is mixed. For tennis elbow and for jumper’s knee in athletes still competing, it is weak.
What is the difference between shockwave and ultrasound therapy?
They are different machines doing different things. Ultrasound is gentle and you feel little or nothing. Shockwave delivers strong pressure pulses and has better evidence for a narrow set of long-standing tendon problems. Shockwave vs ultrasound therapy, explained →
Where can I get shockwave at Phoenix?
At the Orchard and Tampines clinics. $50 per area added to a physiotherapy or hand therapy appointment, or $120 per area booked on its own after a first appointment.
Will my insurance pay?
It depends on your policy. How insurance claims for physiotherapy actually work →
Where
Shockwave at two clinics
ORCHARD
400 Orchard Road #12-12
Orchard Towers, S238875
NS22 Orchard MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Orchard →
WhatsApp 8800 1830TAMPINES
9 Tampines Grande #01-20
Asia Green, S528735
EW2DT32 Tampines MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Tampines →
WhatsApp 8780 9608Not sure shockwave fits your problem?
Tell us where it hurts and how long it has been going on. Months of heel pain and still worst on the first step? Get Assessed & Treated, and leave knowing whether shockwave is worth adding, and what else the plan needs.
Phoebe, our WhatsApp assistant, replies with a clinic and two times. $230 per 45-minute appointment, nett, no GST. Bring any scan report or doctor’s letter you have.
Sources
Research referred to on this page
- Gollwitzer H, et al. Clinically relevant effectiveness of focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis: a randomized, controlled multicenter study. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2015;97(9):701-708.
- Gerdesmeyer L, et al. Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy is safe and effective in the treatment of chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis: results of a confirmatory randomized placebo-controlled multicenter study. Am J Sports Med. 2008;36(11):2100-2109.
- Gerdesmeyer L, et al. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy for the treatment of chronic calcifying tendonitis of the rotator cuff: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003;290(19):2573-2580.
- Rompe JD, et al. Eccentric loading, shock-wave treatment, or a wait-and-see policy for tendinopathy of the main body of tendo Achillis: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med. 2007;35(3):374-383.
- Rompe JD, et al. Eccentric loading versus eccentric loading plus shock-wave treatment for midportion Achilles tendinopathy: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med. 2009;37(3):463-470.
- Rompe JD, et al. Home training, local corticosteroid injection, or radial shock wave therapy for greater trochanter pain syndrome. Am J Sports Med. 2009;37(10):1981-1990.
- Zwerver J, et al. No effect of extracorporeal shockwave therapy on patellar tendinopathy in jumping athletes during the competitive season: a randomized clinical trial. Am J Sports Med. 2011;39(6):1191-1199.
- Buchbinder R, et al. Shock wave therapy for lateral elbow pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;(4):CD003524.
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