During treatment, a small wand-like device uses specific sound waves to stimulate penile tissue and stimulate blood flow, which can also accelerate the healing process. Low-intensity shock waves have also been shown to grow new blood vessels and improve blood flow in the penis, which is essential for erections. Erections depend on healthy blood flow to the penile tissue. Shockwave therapy is favorably regarded as a way to repair and strengthen penile blood vessels and improve blood flow.
LI-ESWT for erectile dysfunction works by applying low-intensity shock waves to the penis. The doctor uses a portable probe to administer them. A gel is used as an interface to conduct shock pulses. LI-ESWT is a revolutionary treatment for erectile dysfunction and probably has unprecedented qualities that can rehabilitate erectile tissue.
The clinical improvement in subjective erectile function, together with the significant improvement in penile hemodynamics after LI-ESWT, confirm that LI-ESWT has unique properties that may create a new standard of treatment for men with erectile dysfunction. LI-ESWT is feasible and tolerable and has no adverse or unwanted effects. Its main advantage is its ability to improve and potentially restore erectile function in men with erectile dysfunction without additional pharmacotherapy. Therefore, the LI-ESWT is an attractive addition to the existing arsenal of treatment options for erectile dysfunction.
In the near future, we hope that LI-ESWT will be used for the long-term clinical treatment of erectile dysfunction, either as an alternative or as an enhancer of current erectile dysfunction treatments. Shock waves (SW) are acoustic waves that carry energy and, when propagated through a medium, can be directed and focused in a non-invasive way to affect a selected distant anatomical region. Low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (LI-ESWT) is a novel modality that has recently been developed to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Penile shockwave therapy is still experimental, as it is a relatively new therapy with no long-term data.
Doctors may refer to shockwave therapy for erectile dysfunction as low intensity extracorporeal shockwave (LI-ESWT) treatment. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has been clinically researched and has been applied in several fields of medicine with varying degrees of success. The energy of shockwave therapy stimulates the growth of new blood vessels through a process called angiogenesis. Current lines of research on new therapies for erectile dysfunction are based on the rho-kinase pathway, in addition to exploring the viability of gene therapy through intracorporeal plasmid injections and regenerative therapy with stem cells.
