The Berman Method
The Berman Method
Episode #166: Shockwave and Tendonitis!
Pharmaceutical ads promise quick fixes but often gloss over serious side effects, even the risk of death. Why are we so willing to ignore these warnings? In our latest episode, we're questioning the massive $8 billion annual advertising budget of big pharma and whether these expenditures truly benefit consumers. We explore the irony of these ads and shift focus to the cost-benefit analysis of pharmaceuticals versus alternative treatments. Our conversation leads us to the intriguing world of Shockwave therapy, a modality we initially questioned but have grown to trust due to its evidence-based effectiveness. Our personal journeys with Shockwave therapy shed light on its potential as a viable alternative to traditional medications, particularly for chronic conditions.
Join us as we dive into the promising realm of Shockwave therapy for soft tissue healing. With its ultra-focused sound waves, this non-invasive treatment stimulates new cell growth, reduces inflammation, and shortens healing time, delivering results in just six weeks. From tennis elbow to plantar fasciitis, many of our clients experience such compelling relief that they opt to treat multiple areas in one session. Discover how you can harness the power of Shockwave therapy and stay connected with us through our online platforms. Hosted by Dr. Jake Berman of Berman Physical Therapy and Jenny Berman, a Physician Assistant with Berman Health and Wellness, we invite you to engage with us online and access valuable insights to support your health journey.
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This is the Berman Method podcast, featuring Dr Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenny Berman. We are here to treat problems and not symptoms. Disclaimer this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and not to treat anyone or to give medical advice. If you are interested in any information that we are giving and would like to use this for yourself, we recommend that you contact your primary care physician or reach out to us and ask us questions about yourself specifically. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:We are back, baby, with the Berman Method podcast, where we're focused on treating problems and not symptoms. We are David going against Goliath, with Goliath being the corporate medical system, big pharma, insurance companies. Speaking of big pharma, did you know Dr Jake Berman? Here with my beautiful co-host.
Speaker 1:Jenny Berman, physician assistant, just jumping right in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got ahead of myself there, did you know? Speaking of big pharma there, did you know?
Speaker 1:speaking of big pharma, they spend $8 billion a year on advertising.
Speaker 2:Wow, $8 billion. $8 billion with a B as in boy billion dollars a year on advertising. If they're spending $8 billion a year on advertising, how much are they making?
Speaker 1:Right, that was. My first thought was wow, because we're always taught to spend a percentage of our revenue on advertising. So that's a huge number that they're bringing in as far as revenue. Huge number that they're bringing in as far as revenue. And then my second thought was that's a big monthly bill. How many millions? Is that a month? How many millions a month A few? Hundred, yeah, just under a billion a month right, Because there's 12 months in a year and they're spending 8 billion a year.
Speaker 2:As is nuts, that is nuts, that's wild. Now think about this. They're advertising these things. They're advertising these commercials as the easy button, the fix, where this is going to really help your life be better, right, right. And then they rush through the fine print and put it in little, tiny words, as they're screaming it in hyperspeed, what is it? Seven times the speed of normal speed of talking at the very end. So this is supposed to cure your headaches. One of the side effects is headaches. Yeah, or you might, yeah.
Speaker 1:Like in a migraine or a stroke, and die.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this medication is supposed to help your headache. One of the side effects is you might have a stroke and die. Yeah, this medication is supposed to help your headache. One of the side effects is you might have a stroke.
Speaker 1:Right, it's crazy.
Speaker 2:It cracks us both up. I mean, it's just comical. Whenever we're watching TV, a football game, and two out of the three commercials happens to be a pharmaceutical medication. We have to watch what the side effects are medication. We have to watch what the side effects are, because the side effects are often a hundred times worse than whatever the original symptom was, right, right and a whole list of them.
Speaker 1:We'll usually like pause it and go back and be like what did they just say?
Speaker 2:like wait a minute. There's a chance of death in every single pharmaceutical medication that is advertised during a sunday football game sure gi bleeding infection think about that the next time you watch a football game or anything. The news the news is the best, the best channel to watch if you're trying to get some some good laughs from what the side effects of the cutting edge pharmacy medication is. The challenge is find one pharmaceutical that doesn't have at least one side effect that could kill you.
Speaker 1:Or require another medication that then could kill you.
Speaker 2:As you're watching these people loving life, smiling, these models, these phenomenal actors that are living their best life, smiling, grinning from ear to ear how this pharmaceutical, chemically composed drug made in a lab somewhere is making their life so much better, look down there at the bottom with your magnifying glass and see oh wait, this also could kill me.
Speaker 1:And don't get me started on how much they cost. That's my next favorite part is how people are like oh, I can't come to you, I can't afford you, but yeah, you're going to go spend $900 a month on a medication. Okay, so is it really that you can't afford me, or is it that you don't want to do the work while affording me?
Speaker 1:good point as opposed to thinking that this medication that they can instead go spend nine hundred dollars on a month, it's gonna just fix the problem good point, very good point, and I think that that's a great segue into what I actually wanted to talk about today, which is shockwave. Shockwave.
Speaker 2:Yes, tell us about it. Yes, we got this Sounds scary, but it's not. It's not, you've had it, I've had it. Shockwave is this new modality that we purchased a few months ago and if anybody knows me from a clinical level, you know that I have been anti-modality my whole entire career. Because none of them work. They're anecdotal at best. They don't have any evidence-based research behind them to show that, yes, it works. X percent of time on this specific diagnosis, until I found shockwave, or shockwave found me or I found shockwave for you you actually did, yeah, I was like you need to get this machine and you can't.
Speaker 1:You can't fight me on it until you try it, but you need to get it and how long were you telling me this before I finally caved? Yeah, months, I think. Well, let's think, I told you about it in october of last year, yes, and I think you didn't then try it out for yourself until april yeah of the next year yeah and then you yeah as soon as I tried it.
Speaker 2:10 minutes later I was like me up. Here's my credit card, here's my social security, here's my firstborn.
Speaker 1:Just give it to me.
Speaker 2:Because it really is insane. It blows my mind and before we get into it, let's just talk about why would we use it? What are the things that it helps with?
Speaker 1:Plantar fasciitis Tennis elbow.
Speaker 2:Well, let's go high level first. Anything soft tissue related, so chronic soft tissue injuries, including plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, rotator cuff tendonitis, shin splints, calf strains, achilles tendinopathy oh man, what else? Achilles tendinopathy, oh man, what else? Tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, any type of muscle strain, scar tissue, even right, so know anybody that's had any C-sections?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes Me, I'm right here. One more coming soon. But, yeah, they've been using it on Hippercitis. Hippercitis.
Speaker 2:This is so for a little bit of a backstory. Hip bursitis is one of the most challenging diagnoses that I've ever run into in my whole entire career to help treat, because you cannot take a step without aggravating the hip bursa. You can't do it. There's no resting it, which is why it takes forever to calm down, and it's one of the I think one of only two diagnoses where I'll say you know what? I think you should go get a cortisone injection.
Speaker 2:And it's so rare that I say this. I think there's only one other diagnosis. And it's so rare that I say this. I think there's only one other diagnosis. And it's so rare that I can't even think of it off the top of my head. I do know for a fact, though, that hip bursitis when your hip bursa is inflamed that's the one diagnosis where I'm like it's not worth the aggravation, of dragging this thing out for weeks and even months. Just go get an injection, knock out the inflammation. That way we can have a solid X amount of days, weeks of exercising and strengthening the muscle to prevent the reason why it came in the first place.
Speaker 1:And it's so painful.
Speaker 2:So painful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like, just like you said, every step is it's aggravated, so it's just a very aggravating pain.
Speaker 2:Shockwave, though, is helping us knock it out in record-breaking time. So this is I don't want this. Podcasts that come off as an infomercial, like we're trying to sell this thing. What I'm trying to do right now is try to communicate a message of how excited I am.
Speaker 1:Educate.
Speaker 2:Educate, Because this one modality has helped us exponentially augment soft tissue healing times that we're not able to do with our traditional approach. Where I'm going and I'm trying to do soft tissue massage to an area we're trying to strengthen it and exercise it, that's going to take X amount of time to get the results we're looking for. This has expedited it.
Speaker 1:So can I ask some questions about shockwave that I know people are thinking.
Speaker 2:Yes, go.
Speaker 1:How does it work? What does it do? So it works on the soft tissue and it reduces inflammation, but what is it actually doing? Is it shocking me?
Speaker 2:It is not electricity at all. What it does is it uses ultra-focused sound waves, so it's an ultrasonic sound wave to stimulate new cell growth in damaged or injured tissues. So it's an ultrasonic sound wave that penetrates through the skin to the soft tissue. It's the same exact technology that they've used for 100 years to break up kidney stones.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:All they did was they fine-tuned it with the different types of applicators now, so different types of heads to focus the sound waves in different depths, different areas. So now we can use it for soft tissue injuries.
Speaker 1:Okay, does it hurt?
Speaker 2:No, Well, there's an asterisk there. There is different levels of intensity that we can use, as you well know, where the goal is to turn the intensity up as high as you can tolerate. However, it's not something where you should be laying there going oh my gosh, this is not comfortable at all.
Speaker 1:Right right. So we don't want it to be like a TENS unit where, if you've ever used one, you can feel the well, that's electricity. So it's a little bit different but you can actually. It's uncomfortable versus this is not uncomfortable.
Speaker 2:Correct and here's the best part about this thing is the level of discomfort that you experience is directly correlated with how unhealthy the soft tissue is that we're treating. So on day one it's most likely going to be more uncomfortable than it's going to be on day six.
Speaker 1:Right, okay. So, speaking of days, how many days do I have to do it and how long does it take?
Speaker 2:This was the thing that got me over the line Once I learned this stat, or this fact. This is when I said okay, take my money, sign me up. Here's my credit card, here's my firstborn, let's just do this. Is that this is one of the. This is the only modality that has evidence-based research and is non-invasive, that has proven results within six sessions.
Speaker 2:Now what that means is you have one session per week. You don't do more than one per week on a specific body area and six weeks later the maximum amount of tissue healing that's available in that area has been achieved of tissue healing that's available in that area has been achieved. So let me say it differently If you've got chronic tennis elbow, chronic plantar fasciitis, Okay, chronic meaning long-term.
Speaker 2:Yeah, long-term. So you've been dealing with tennis elbow, you've been dealing with plantar fasciitis, you've been dealing with shoulder tendonitis, rotator cuff tendonitis, knee tendonitis, hip tendonitis You've been dealing with it. Tendonitis, rotator cuff tendonitis, knee tendonitis, hip tendonitis You've been dealing with it for a while. Generally speaking, the thought is that the soft tissue, the muscles, tendons and ligaments are flared up, pissed off, inflamed, and that's what the pain is from. Those are soft tissues. Shockwave goes in and it heals those soft tissues within six weeks. This is clinically proven, scientifically proven, evidence-based research that proves that this is the case. Here's what makes it so good Six weeks later, if you still have plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, hip pain, knee pain, whatever it is, we can then definitively say your pain is not coming from soft tissue anymore, it's coming from something somewhere else.
Speaker 1:Got it.
Speaker 2:Now that can mean that where the hips use plantar fasciitis foot pain for example if you still have pain six weeks later, then that means that something somewhere else is causing an increased strain on a certain area, causing the pain response. It's not coming from the soft tissue anymore, so that helps us rule out what could be causing the pain. So instead of trying to guess and say well, here we are 12 weeks later, six months later, the tissue's just been that messed up, it's taken this long to heal it. We don't have to guess that anymore.
Speaker 2:We know within six weeks if the pain's coming from the soft tissue or from something else. So it's really really helped out and, like I just said, the best part is it's one session a week for six weeks.
Speaker 1:And it's non-invasive, so it's not going to harm anything in trying. How long is a session?
Speaker 2:20 minutes max. Usually the whole thing can be over and done with in 12 minutes.
Speaker 1:So 12 minutes once a week. Now, if I wanted to use this more than once a week on different body parts, could I have more than one session a week?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and that's one of the things that a lot of our customers have been doing lately is because it feels so good, because you get up off the table and you're like, oh my goodness, I feel so much better. They're starting to do it on multiple body parts at the same time, meaning that we're coming in for knee pain. But while we're at it, after you're done with my knee, do my shoulder, do my hip, do my foot. So we've got some people where I'm shocking them for an hour because we're doing multiple body parts and the only catch is we do not do the same body part sooner than five days. Ideally, six days is when we do it the next time, but we can do multiple body parts in the same session.
Speaker 1:Right. Or if you're coming three days a week, you could do a 12-minute session on three different body parts the three days and then go into the therapeutic side of things for the other minutes of your session.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Right, which is got it?
Speaker 2:So use yourself for an example. Why did we start this on you a few weeks ago?
Speaker 1:Been having some right leg pain, primarily with driving burning pain down my leg, which some people would relate or call sciatica. Yes called sciatica. Yes, and I've been blaming being pregnant on this sciatic pain that I've been having, and it only really bothers me when I drive, but that's often, that's every day, so we've been using it for that.
Speaker 2:Yes, how painful has it been.
Speaker 1:Not painful and it's quick, and that's what I need.
Speaker 2:That's the biggest thing for you is you don't have time.
Speaker 1:I don't have time for this. I don't have time to come get my treatment, which is so bad. Right, that's what we're talking about. All the time is not making time for yourself.
Speaker 2:Do as Jenny says, not as she does.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, hey, I make time for a lot of things. I exercise every single day. You do but sitting on a table when I could be responding to emails or treating my patients. That's where I struggle, you struggle, prioritizing yourself. Yeah, just like most people, most moms out there there and not just moms, business owners, entrepreneurs, working men and women we struggle with prioritizing ourself, and that's something we're always having to work on anyway. Yes.
Speaker 2:Yep, so you're in and out. We've got it down to where it's 10 minutes max. You come in, we work on the spot. 10 minutes later you're out and you're going about your business. It's once a week. We're in week four now, and it's well, you tell me.
Speaker 1:Significantly improving. So my driving from the house to dropping the girls off or to the doctor's appointment, or even driving up to Orlando had very minimal pain with the long drive. Don't have any pain now with driving locally in town for the short rides which I was having before, and it's my right leg, the foot, that's on the pedal, so it doesn't typically bother me when I'm sitting in the passenger seat, it's more when I'm physically driving and having my leg extended. So, yes, significant improvement in pain in short distances and with long distances, but still have a little bit of work to do on the long distance.
Speaker 2:Yes, doing well for you, doing well for me. I didn't have any pain, but I just I had to feel what it felt like. So I've been working on both of my feet, both of my plantar fascias, and it feels awesome, like it's really, really cool. It's one of the things I have not been this excited about a new treatment intervention in this world for many, many years, and this one is actually exciting because this is as close to the easy button as you can possibly get.
Speaker 1:Easy button as you can possibly get Right Right Quick, non-painful, no drugs involved, nothing that you have to go do either.
Speaker 2:And there's zero side effects. Right, zero, none.
Speaker 1:Right, and then you just got to keep up with your homework of doing your exercise.
Speaker 2:Yeah, fix the reason why it came there in the first place. Right, right, awesome. That's all I really wanted to get over today. I'm really excited about this. And remember, season is kicking up right now. The snowbirds are getting back in town, so the schedule is going to be rocking and rolling.
Speaker 2:If you want to take advantage of shockwave, now is the time to do it. Do not wait until things get crazy, especially for the locals here. We are the worst. The locals are the worst because we always blame it on season. We're not going to take care of ourself until May rolls around. May is over six months away, that's a half a year from now and then we use the holidays as an excuse too, right? Next thing, we know it's Thanksgiving, then it's Christmas. Okay, we'll just pick it up in May, seven months later. Get in now. It takes 15 minutes to start getting some relief. So now you can get a bigger return on investment from the homework and the exercises that you are doing. Get some relief, start progressing and quit regressing. And enjoy Thanksgiving, enjoy Christmas, enjoy New Year's, enjoy the rest of the season. Don't have to suffer through it.
Speaker 1:Right, right, the times where you could get out with your family and go hiking or go for that family walk after Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas, being able to get down and play with your grandkids because they're in town. Be able to do these things. Don't wait on it.
Speaker 2:So make sure you reach out to me today. Call me 239-431-0232. Email me, drberman at bermanptcom. Ask me for more information on whatever your condition is. If I didn't mention it all that whole list of things that I said it treats I didn't mention it. Planter all that whole list of things that I said it treats. Call me, ask me, email me, text me. Let me know what your specific, unique condition is and I'll tell you it's going to help or it's not what I can tell you. If it's soft tissue, it can help.
Speaker 1:Right Perfect.
Speaker 2:Good.
Speaker 1:Awesome. All right, come get your shockwave.
Speaker 2:Like, subscribe and share baby. Ciao for now.
Speaker 1:Thank you for subscribing on your social media and podcast platforms to the Berman Method Dr Jake Berman with Berman Physical Therapy and Jenny Berman, Physician Assistant with Berman Health and Wellness. You can find more information on our website wwwbermanptcom for physical therapy. Wwwbermanptcom forward slash wellness for the health and wellness. You can also find us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and on your podcast platform, so be sure to follow us, like us, subscribe to us and, if you would like any further information, definitely visit our website and reach out to us. You may also find our free reports on the websites as well, where you can download this free information for yourself. Have a great day.