Shock wave therapy is fairly new and was first introduced in the 1970’s when it was used to disintegrate a kidney stone in a patient.  Physicians, Haeusler and Kiefer reported they were able to eliminate the kidney stone with shock waves without even having touched the stone.  This procedure is now commonly known as lithotripsy.

  

The first understanding as to how shock waves affected human tissue was in World War II.  It was observed that castaways from blown up ships had torn lungs with no outer symptoms of trauma being observed. It was at first time that the influence of shock waves was observed on human tissue.

In the 1950’s further experiments continued to determine the affects of shock waves. Frank Rieber of New York patented a shock wave generator. This electrohydraulic generated enough shock waves it could literally crush ceramic plates in water.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, German government paid for ongoing testing surrounding shock waves and their potential use.  They learned that high-energy shock waves cause effects in organisms over long distances. It was also discovered that shock waves created low side effect on the way through the body. It left muscles, fat and other connective tissues unharmed.  These experiments led Haeusler and Kiefer to the medical idea that they could use shock waves to disintegrate kidney stones in patients.  In 1974 the Department of Research and Science in Germany financed a research program to test the physician’s theory around shock wave treatment for kidney stones. The program was a success and in 1980 the first patient was treated in Munich with a prototype machine called the Dornier Lithotriper HM1. In 1983, shock wave treatment was expanded to disintegrate gallstones which was also successful.

Today, the treatment of kidney and ureteral stones with extracorporeal shock waves is the gold standard of choice.  In the last 16 years more than 3 million patients have been treated as it is a safe and effective therapy.  Its use has also expanded to sports medicine where it is used to reduce pain in injured soft tissues and promote healing.   

In Europe over the last decade, shock wave therapy has been used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) with great success.  In a study, Vardi et al. 2010, patients who suffered from ED for over three years participated in the study.  Of the 20 men who participated, 15 of them immediately saw results after the first month of treatment and all these men stated they are still realizing the results 2 years post treatment.  Now in the United States, this new alternative treatment for ED has gained momentum due to the success rate. Now men have another option that is pain-free, no needles and no more need for pills.