Maria Doreen Flores Marzoña

 How Shockwave Therapy works to improve erectile dysfunction To define, Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment that involves creating a series of low energy acoustic wave pulsations that are directly applied to an injury through a person’s skin via a gel medium. The idea and mechanics of shockwave therapy was developed from the awareness that focused sound waves have the ability to break down kidney and gallstones. Shockwaves were found to be an effective way to treat conditions like a lingering injury or pain resulting from illness. Patients don’t need painkillers because the aim of the therapy is to stimulate the body’s own natural healing reaction. It was reported that after the first treatment, the pain was lessened and movement was better. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a man’s inability to get or keep an erection needed for sexual intercourse. Experts say that ED is a condition that affects some 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70. ED can also be associated to some medical causes like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, but ED isn’t necessarily related to age or illnesses. Other common causes include heavy alcohol consumption, tobacco use, prescription medications, anxiety or depression. We need to know how or what erection is, to fully understand ED. When a man is sexually aroused, arteries expand so that his penis can fill with blood. Once the penis is filled with blood, it forms an erection. Once the man ejaculates, the blood is released back into the body. The blood is what gives the penis the hardness needed for vaginal penetration. A man may have weaker erections or he may be unable to have erections at all, if he has problems with blood flow to the penis. There are several types of treatments available to men with ED. The treatments include pills, vacuum erection devices and penile injections. These type of treatments are administered on a need basis. It can be used only when necessary and can work for only one sexual contact. Shockwave therapy chooses the body part responsible to get an erection and focuses on that part so that men can get a hard on. Shockwave therapy uses energy from acoustic waves to trigger a process called neovascularization in certain parts of the body. As per Wikipedia, Neovascularization is the natural formation of new blood vessels (neo- + vascular + -ization). When neovascularization occurs, new blood vessels form. This helps improve blood flow to the areas that need to be healed. In a recent study, scientists have probed that low-intensity shockwave therapy can help men with erectile dysfunction (ED). When we administer shockwave therapy, the doctor applies a probe to the penis, which is coated in a special gel. Different areas of the penis are usually targeted. Treatment sessions may last for fifteen to twenty minutes. Men usually don’t need anesthesia or experience pain, although they might have a tingling sensation in the treated area. Treatment consists of noninvasive low-intensity sound waves that pass through erectile tissue, restoring natural erectile function by clearing plaque out of blood vessels and encouraging the growth of new blood vessels. Some believes that these therapies could potentially restore natural function and “regenerate erectile tissues.” Trials done on Shockwave therapy proved to have reassuring and promising results. The procedure was well – accepted and has been proven to be quite effective. Most men who underwent the therapy are able to have erections and engage in sexual act. A recent article said that Erectile Dysfunction Shock Wave Therapy or EDSWT was officially accepted by the European Association of Urology (EAU) as the gold standard for treatment of Erectile Dysfunction in the EAU 2013 guidelines on Male Sexual Dysfunction. This was based on clinical trials using this specialized device. Irwin Goldstein, MD, Director of Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital, clinical professor of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego, Director of San Diego Sexual Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of Sexual Medicine Reviews, is in favor of shockwave therapy. “Through shockwave therapy, we’re introducing a new paradigm of disease modification to the treatment of ED,” Dr. Goldstein said. “You can take a pill, but you wake up the next day with the same erectile tissue and the same problem. If you undergo shockwave therapy, what we hope it will do is change the health of the tissue. Injections, pills or implants don’t really address pathology reversal, but low intensity shockwave will.” Dr. Goldstein said he is involved in a clinical trial that he hopes will change the opinion of people about the therapy. He is eager to produce good data to support his belief. It may be in argument now as to whether Shockwave therapy is really effective, but the trials in progress may change the point of view or the perception of people about whether Shockwave Therapy can work to improve erectile dysfunction. Note: Information taken from blogs/articles on Google