Anyone had shockwave treatment for Achilles tendinitis please

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Been suffering since last autumn. Seen a podiatrist who suggested heal raisers. I do a lot of steps at work and initially it did help but now I'm in agony after each shift.
Been seeing an osteopath for my back and they also offer shockwave treatments at £95 a session with 3 sessions recommended at a week apart. A 75% success rate over 6 months...
Any thoughts please?

I have had it for plantar fasciitis, it didn’t work quickly as the way it works is to make the body recognise the problem as a fresh injury and then it has to heal. It did work after about six treatments and three months healing time and has been fine since.

It is painful, and I do have quite a high pain threshold, it was well worth it in the end.

My friend's had it. Worked initially, doesn't work any more.

I know several people who have had it. Both said it worked. I would certainly try it if I had this condition

Not for achilles, but for an injury in a similar place: game changer. It worked perfectly for me, better than any physio etc.

Yes I have. It was quiet painful to have, but it did work

I had it on my Achillies last year. Big improvement after the first two sessions but it didn’t help after that. I was booked in for 6 sessions but called it quits after 4.

Worth a go I think.

Many thanks for responses. He did say it was painful but effective. I think I'll save up and give it a try!

I found acupuncture and physio fantastic.

Had it for similar. Improved slightly while having treatment and for a bit after but now the pain is back just like it was before.Treatment was painful but bearable.
Personally I'd say not worth the expense as it didn't really work.

Have you seen a physio? That's normally the first route before you would consider shockwave treatment. I was surprised how quickly I got better with the exercises. Shock absorbing footwear is also advised.

Physio, made to measure orthotics and ultrasound worked very well on mine. I still have achilles tendinitis more than 15 years later, but it's never gone back to being so bad that I hobble around.

Hello OP.
You have my sympathy and I feel your pain as I’ve also got Achilles tendinitis causing a painful lump on the back of my heel, which is tender when touched therefore making shoe wearing difficult. (Summer was easier with sandals)
The pain is sporadic & very random - not really related at all to my activity levels, but is very stiff after sitting down for any amount of time .
Its got so bad I have to walk downstairs 1 step at a time.

I have previously been referred to physio - who was really rubbish and just handed me an exercise sheet, so did my own online exercises .
I’ve now been referred for shock wave therapy and am waiting for an appointment. So I am very interested to hear all these opinions.
I hope you get better soon .

I’ve got this and never heard of shockwave treatment. For those who have found
physio works, what were the exercises please?

Sorry - was just checking you’re doing physio op?

Agree with pp that physio is the first line of treatment, it was my physio who did the shockwave in addition to daily exercises.

I think it’s the many, many heel raises and calf stretches which make the main difference.

My programme was roughly, 5 days a week:-

36 heel raises left leg
36 heel raises right leg
3 calf stretches each side
36 heel raises with bent knee left leg
36 heel raises with bent knee right leg
3 calf stretches each side with bent knee

I guess it depends on your starting fitness point.

I’m bad at complying though tbh, especially as I’m not seeing the physio anymore. I’m not sure why - the exercises only took about 10 mins and although I still have a lump on the back of my Achilles it’s much less painful than a year ago,

I had both Achilles lengthened as a child and have had a lot of pain/inflammation. I have had shockeave treatment twice. The first time was absolute agony, I was crying like a baby (really sobbing) and felt absolutely traumatised afterwards. The second time, I was really nervous but it was fine. Uncomfortable, a bit painful at times, but entirely bearable.

It did help a lot, btw. My surgeon also showed me how to manipulate/stretch the tendons manually to loosen them and that helped too.

I had achilies tendinitis in both ankles to varying degrees, meant i could barlwy walk down stairs or on flat surgaces for more than 10 mins at a time.. I went to a physio which involved quite painful massages of the lumps on on achillies, ultrasound and exercises. Had treatment every 2 weeks for maybe 3 months or so, completely solved the problem been lump and pain free for over a 18 months.

Probably didn't make it clear in original post that by heal raisers I meant orthotic heal wedges to wear in boots. It gives a little relief. I only have the pain after resting and in the morning have to go sideways down the stairs! It eases up once I'm mobile though.
The podiatrist did give me a couple of exercises but was convinced the wedges would the job...
Feel a but of a donut not thinking about physio but the poster was up at the osteopaths and in a non-salesman way he said it was the most effective.
Sympathising with other posters suffering.

@The4teddybears I could have written the start of your post myself! You described it exactly.
I'm still in the limping stage and due to start physio next Wednesday. I'm sure people at work think I'm putting it on but it's absolutely debilitating after an eight hour shift on my feet.
Can I ask, people with a lump on the back of their heel, did the physio touch the lump? I'm worried I'll kick him into next week if he does.

Same (but only one side).

You definitely need to try a physiotherapist first.

Yes they massage the lump - hard! But it goes numb very quickly (she told me why, can’t remember). Yes it hurts but not for long.

It was mostly about getting the body to recognise the injury and get back to healing it.

Yup - massaging the lump gently was part of the physio session. Just warn your physio.

Didn’t work for me in fact I ended up with a bone bruise.

What DID work however was doing a Keto diet to reduce my inflammation

I'm just in the waiting room now for an appt. I've been having physio since November and this is my third SW treatment. Daily exercises include calf raises and calf stretches. I'm.paying £45 for 10 minutes but luckily I have some work provided health insurance that will cover six sessions.

I'm an runner and seem to have been suffering with this for years but really trying to get it fixed this time..jury is out on SW though as not seen any improvement yet. I've been having laser treatment on top as well.

Still.managing to run but plan on taking a break after my marathon in 3 weeks.

If you haven’t tried this already, you could see a physio for some conservative stretches. There is a lot available on Youtube of course, but you need to be seen properly, because some of those exercises may work for some but could lead to others going on to rupture their Achilles Tendon.