Gents, I'm trying to determine the optimal Hz rate for the treatments. My readings indicate that the reason for success of shockwave therapy is that it causes cavitation. It is important that the device creates these tiny air bubbles and that they "pop" and regenerate as the waves are being created. It would seem that at too high a frequency, or Hz, there may not be time for the cavitation bubbles to "pop" and be recreated. 

That said, the higher the Hz, the quicker the treatment goes, which is nice. Also, it seems that many people here on the board, and the machine settings when you choose "professional" mode, kick the Hz higher. I'm not sure if this is done only because it completes the treatment faster, or because it is better?

Here are three excerpts on cavitation from shockwave, or eswt, devices:

Clinical Relevance
Prior ESWT studies have shown that tissues treated with sufficient quantities of acoustic sound waves undergo cavitation build-up, mechanotransduction, and ultimately, a biological alteration that “kick-starts” the healing response. Due to their different treatment indications and contra-indications rESWT devices cannot be equated to vibrating massage devices and should be used with due caution in clinical practice.

High-speed imaging of cavitation bubbles
High-speed imaging sequences for both the D-Actor 200 and the Swiss DolorClast revealed the
build-up of cavitation bubbles as soon as 10 μs following the pressure wave front, and cavitation maximum approximately 120 μs later (Fig 4). Both devices produced larger cavita-
tion bubbles at 1 Hz than at 15 Hz, irrespective of the devices’energy settings (Fig 5). Quantita-
tive analysis of the film sequences also showed that both devices generated more cavitation at
1 Hz than at 15 Hz, with cavitation persisting for approximately 1 ms (Fig 6)

(no real heading applies)
High frequencies do not seem advisable as cavitation bubbles may block the propagation of subsequent waves [10], and the maximum generated pressure seems to drop [12].
 

Last edited by HopefullD (2/04/2019 8:40 am)