Chronic low back pain rarely disappears on its own; the tissues often need help to heal. At Align Therapy, we use focused and radial shockwave plus EMTT, combined with targeted strengthening, to stimulate your body’s healing response, reduce pain, and rebuild support around your spine.
When Back Pain Stops Healing On Its Own
I often meet people who say something like, “My back has hurt for years. I keep hoping one day I will just wake up and it will be gone.”
If this is you, you are not alone.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 80 percent of adults in the United States will experience low back pain at some point in their lives.
For many, the first episode settles down in a few weeks. But for others, pain lingers for months or years. Over time, your body adapts in ways that are meant to protect you but can actually keep the problem going:
- Deep stabilizing muscles around the spine shrink and weaken.
- Core muscles turn “off” when they should be helping.
- The nervous system becomes extra sensitive.
- Movement patterns change and strain builds up in other areas.
This is why chronic low back pain rarely just disappears. It is not only about irritated joints or discs. It is about changing the tissue and re-training how your body supports your spine.
That is where shockwave therapy can play a powerful role.
What Is Shockwave Therapy for the Spine?
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) is a technology that uses high energy sound waves to stimulate healing in tissues.
Most people hear about it for chronic tendon problems in the shoulder, elbow, or Achilles – and it truly works well for many of those.
In our clinic, we started with those extremity issues and saw great results. Then we began applying the same principles to chronic back pain.
The changes have been a game changer.
Radial vs focused shockwave
We use both radial and focused shockwave:
- Radial shockwave spreads energy over a broader area.
- Focused shockwave delivers energy more precisely and deeper into specific tissues.
By combining both, we can:
- Target tight, painful spots in the back muscles and fascia.
- Reach deeper structures closer to the spine.
- Adjust the intensity to match your sensitivity and goals.
These shockwave devices are CE-marked medical devices in Europe, and in our clinic they are used within appropriate regulatory pathways and under trained clinical supervision.
Where EMTT fits in
In addition to shockwave, we also use EMTT (Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy).
EMTT uses high intensity magnetic fields to create gentle electrical changes in your tissues.
You can think of it as another way of inputting energy into the system so your body has more “fuel” to heal. Like the shockwave units, EMTT devices are CE-marked medical devices in many regions.
We often combine:
- Focused and radial shockwave to mechanically stimulate tissue.
- EMTT to influence cellular activity and circulation.
Then we add the most important piece – specific, progressive movement and strengthening.
How Shockwave Helps Chronic Back Pain
Increasing the healing response of the body
Chronic tissue problems often get “stuck” in a low grade, irritated, not-quite-healing state. Shockwave can help restart that process.
Research on ESWT suggests it can:
- Increase local blood flow.
- Stimulate the release of growth factors that support tissue repair.
- Encourage new tiny blood vessels to form.
- Influence how pain nerves in the area send signals.
In simple terms, shockwave tells the body, “Hey, this area needs attention again. Let us heal it better this time.”
For chronic low back pain, we typically target:
- Deep spinal muscles that have become weak and knotted.
- Connective tissue around the spine that has stiffened.
- Tender points in the hips and pelvis that are compensating for the back.
When we combine this with EMTT, we are layering different types of energy to support the same goal: increasing the healing response of the body.
Resetting painful muscles and fascia
If you have had pain for a long time, you may notice:
- Constant tightness that stretching never seems to fix.
- Knots or bands in the muscles along your spine.
- Pain that spreads across the low back or into the hips.
Shockwave delivers short bursts of mechanical energy into these tissues.
Many people describe a “release” feeling afterward – as if a grip has been loosened.
By improving blood flow and tissue quality, muscles can contract and relax more normally again.
This makes it much easier to strengthen the right areas without flaring everything up.
Supporting people before and after back surgery
Some of the most encouraging results we have seen are in people who:
- Have long-standing back pain and are trying to avoid or delay surgery.
- Still have pain months or years after surgery, including after scoliosis fusion surgery.
Post-surgical pain can be especially challenging.
Scar tissue, protective muscle guarding, and altered mechanics around the fusion can all contribute.
We use focused shockwave and EMTT around the non-fused segments, scars, and surrounding muscles to:
- Support tissue healing.
- Improve mobility in safe, targeted ways.
- Make it easier to activate stabilizing muscles again.
Everyone is different, and not all back pain will respond the same way.
But we have seen very meaningful changes in pain and function for many people who felt like they had “tried everything.”
What Chronic Back Pain Does To Your Muscles
One thing I explain often is that chronic back pain is not just a “pain problem” – it is a tissue and control problem.
Atrophy of the deep spinal muscles
The deep stabilizers of your spine, especially the multifidus muscles, are like small guide wires running up and down the back.
With ongoing pain, these muscles often:
- Shrink in size (atrophy).
- Lose endurance.
- Stop firing at the right time.
Imaging studies in people with chronic low back pain consistently show this kind of muscle change.
Inhibition of the core stabilizers
Similarly, the deeper core muscles, like the transverse abdominis, can become inhibited.
They are supposed to switch on just before you move, providing a gentle corset of support.
With ongoing pain, the body may “turn them down” as a protective strategy.
Over time, this leads to:
- More load on passive structures like discs and ligaments.
- Overuse of superficial muscles that are not designed to be stabilizers.
- A feeling of tightness on top of weakness.
Other changes we commonly see
With chronic back pain, it is also common to see:
- Stiffness in the hips that forces the low back to do extra work.
- Limited thoracic (mid back) rotation.
- Fear of bending, twisting, or lifting.
- A nervous system that is more sensitive to normal movement.
This is why simply “resting” or doing generic stretches is rarely enough.
We have to change the tissue and rebuild trust in movement.
Shockwave and EMTT help us change the tissue.
A targeted exercise program helps us rebuild control.
How We Combine Shockwave With Strengthening at Align Therapy
Shockwave is powerful, but it is not magic.
The best results come when we pair it with the right exercises and education.
In our clinic, a typical plan for chronic back pain might include:
- Assessment
- We listen to your story, understand what you have tried, and what has or has not helped.
- We look at how you move, where tissues are tender, and how your core and spinal muscles are working.
- Targeted shockwave and EMTT
- Radial shockwave for broader muscle and fascia areas.
- Focused shockwave for specific deep spots that need more precise attention.
- EMTT to further support cellular activity and circulation.
- Activation of deep stabilizers
- Gentle, specific exercises to wake up the multifidus and deep core.
- Often starting in positions where your back feels safest.
- Progressive strengthening and movement retraining
- Gradually loading your spine in ways that match your life demands.
- If you have scoliosis or a fusion, this may include Schroth-based or scoliosis-specific exercises tailored to you.
- Education and long term plan
- Helping you understand what is happening in your body.
- Giving you a clear path forward so you are not guessing anymore.
Small, consistent steps create real change.
Shockwave helps create a window of opportunity where pain decreases and tissues feel better.
We then use that window to build lasting strength and confidence.
What A Shockwave Session Feels Like
People are often nervous before their first session because it is something new.
Here is what you can typically expect:
- We position you comfortably, usually lying down.
- A gel is applied to help transmit the shockwaves.
- The device delivers rapid pulses that you feel as tapping or deep vibrations.
- We constantly check in and adjust the intensity so it is tolerable.
Most sessions last minutes per area, and you can usually move around right afterward.
Some people feel relief almost immediately; for others, the change is more gradual over a few sessions.
Mild soreness for a day or two can happen as the tissues respond and adapt.
Is Shockwave Therapy Right For Your Back Pain?
Shockwave and EMTT may be worth considering if:
- You have had low back pain for more than 3 months.
- You have tried basic rest, pain medications, or generic exercises without lasting relief.
- Your pain seems to be coming from muscles, fascia, ligaments, or post-surgical changes rather than an urgent medical issue.
We are always careful about safety.
There are situations where shockwave or EMTT may not be appropriate, such as:
- Certain heart or circulation problems.
- Specific implanted devices.
- Active infections, tumors, or unhealed fractures in the area.
- Pregnancy over the treatment area.
That is why a thorough assessment and conversation come first.
You deserve a plan that fits your body, your history, and your goals.
If you would like to read more about our broader approach, you can visit https://aligntherapyutah.com/specialized-back-pain-treatment/.
Your Next Step: Discovery Visit & Shockwave Demo
If you have lived with chronic back pain, you know how exhausting it is to keep hoping it will “just go away.”
From my experience working with people like you, I can tell you this:
When we change the tissue and rebuild support around your spine, your back often has a much better chance to calm down.
Shockwave, focused shockwave, and EMTT are tools that help us do exactly that.
If you are curious whether this approach could fit your situation, I would love for you to come in for a Discovery Visit.
During this visit, we can:
- Listen to your story and understand what you have been through.
- Explain how shockwave works in simple terms.
- Show you what the technology looks and feels like with a gentle demo.
- Outline a personalized plan that includes both tissue healing and strengthening.
You do not have to navigate this alone.
Movement is medicine – for your body and your mind – and there are still options even if you have had pain for years or have already had back surgery.
If you are ready to explore what is possible, let us take the next step together.
