Exploring Softwave Therapy: Benefits, Integration, and Functional Medicine Applications
ASCEND ABOVE AVERAGEFebruary 18, 2026x
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Exploring Softwave Therapy: Benefits, Integration, and Functional Medicine Applications

In this episode, Matt Tack introduces the concepts of shockwave and softwave therapy, focusing on their respective benefits and FDA approval status. The discussion highlights the differences between the two therapies and how they can be integrated with other treatments to enhance patient outcomes. Emphasis is placed on the role of softwave therapy within the realm of functional medicine, showcasing its potential to support holistic health approaches. The episode wraps up with final thoughts and an invitation for listeners to consider consultations for personalized treatment plans, encouraging them to explore these therapies as part of their health journey. (0:00) Introduction to shockwave and softwave therapy (3:55) Shockwave vs. Softwave therapy benefits and FDA approval (7:27) Integrating softwave therapy with other treatments (11:08) Softwave therapy's role in functional medicine (13:31) Final thoughts and invitation for consultations

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Pain relief, joint issues, tendon problems, or regenerative medicine, you've probably seen

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shockwave therapy all over the place.

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It's trending.

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It sounds high-tech, and a lot of places are marketed as the cutting edge regeneration

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solution.

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So the big question is, we keep getting at the clinic, what's the difference between shockwave

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therapy and what we use, softwave therapy?

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Welcome to Health Decoded, your number one source for real health information with your

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host, doctor Alessi and Matt Tack.

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Welcome to Health Decoded with your cohost, Matt Tack.

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I am running this episode solo today as doctor Alessi's at the clinic serving patients.

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But I have a great episode for you today, so let's jump right in.

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Today's episode is gonna be talking about soft wave versus shock wave therapy.

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You know, there's a lot of buzz today around this shock wave therapy, and we use soft wave

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therapy.

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And I wanted to highlight this because I there are some major differences between the two

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modalities and the two therapies that you need to know about.

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So today, I wanna talk to you about something that's been coming up more and more in

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conversations with patients, and that's shockwave therapy.

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And if you've been researching pain relief, joint issues, tendon problems, or regenerative

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medicine, you've probably seen shockwave therapy all over the place.

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It's trending.

00:03:09
It sounds high-tech, and a lot of places are marketed as the cutting edge regeneration

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solution.

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So the big question is, we keep getting at the clinic, what's the difference between shockwave

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therapy and what we use, softwave therapy?

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And I want to dig right in, but more importantly, why did we choose softwave?

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So in today's episode, I want to break down in a really clear, honest way, no hype, no

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bashing, just science experience and what we've actually seen work for our patients.

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So let me start with shockwave therapy because I want to be fair about it at the end of the

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day too.

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So shockwave therapy isn't useless.

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It can help in certain situations.

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It was originally designed to work on fascia and surface level tissue, and for some people,

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it can temporarily reduce pain or even tension in the body.

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And that's where a lot of confusion comes in because the pain relief feels like healing, but

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those two things are not the same.

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Some people can reduce pain without actually repairing tissue, if that makes sense.

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And something can feel good without changing what's happening at a cellular level.

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So shockwave therapy is often marketed as regenerative, stem cell activating, deep tissue

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healing.

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But when you look at the actual research, there's a big gap between the marketing and

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then the actual evidence.

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Now let's dig into the Softwave side and I'll get back to the Shockwave.

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This is where Softwave therapy is fundamentally different.

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Softwave is an FDA approved medical device with multiple randomized human clinical control

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trials showing that it works, not in theory, not in animals, but in actual humans.

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So Softwave uses patented acoustic sound waves that penetrate much deeper into the tissue than

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the traditional shock wave therapy.

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These sound waves create a biological response that tells the body, Hey, something needs to

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repair here.

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And this is important.

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So soft wave doesn't eject stem cells, it's non invasive, and it doesn't force the healing.

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What it does, it actually activates your own healing mechanisms, including stem cell

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signaling pathways, improves blood flow, stimulates tissue regeneration, and helps

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damaged tissues actually begin to repair themselves.

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The easiest way to think about it is this: soft wave sends a powerful repair signal, shock wave

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mostly works at the surface.

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So let me say that again.

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Softwave sends a powerful repair signal to the body, whereas shockwave mostly works at the

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surface level.

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So here's the big difference, research and potency.

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When you compare the two side by side, the biggest difference comes down to potency and

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proof.

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Shockwave therapy is primarily fascia focused, has limited depth, and does not have high

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quality human clinical trials showing stem cell activation or deep tissue regeneration.

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Whereas soft wave therapy has FDA approval, has published human research, and has shown energy

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output needed to influence cellular repair, and I say that again cellular repair, has shown to

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improve blood flow and tissue regeneration.

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And that's what's most important, and that's what people are actually selling the long term

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effects of utilizing these two different therapies.

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And that's why we invested in Softwave, which I will tell you is a lot more expensive than

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buying a just regular Softwave or Shockwave machine.

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So, and that matters, especially if you're dealing with chronic pain, joint degeneration,

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tendon issues, or long standing issues that haven't responded to other treatments.

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If someone just wants surface level relief, shock wave might help or if it's fascia

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related, so something very surface driven.

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But if someone wants actual healing, you need a regenerative signal, and that's where softwave

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really shines.

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So why we use softwave with other modalities?

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We never use it alone.

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So here's the part, we actually, we will use it alone, but we like to parlay that with other

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modalities.

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And here's the part that really matters and something that sets our approach completely

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different is a different approach than any other physical medicine clinic and even

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functional medicine because we utilize this during in our functional medicine as well.

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But even though soft wave is incredibly powerful, we honestly rarely use it by itself.

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Healing is never one dimensional.

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Soft wave tells the body what to heal, but the body still needs the right environment to

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actually do the healing.

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So that's why we combine a lot of our other therapies with soft wave.

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So let me just give you a few too, so that you get a better understanding.

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Soft wave in like chiropractic care.

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When joints are restricted or misaligned, even regenerative tissue won't function properly.

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Chiropractic care restores the movement, alignment, and biomechanisms so the healing of

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the tissue can actually work the way it's supposed to.

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So that's why we combine soft wave and chiropractic.

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Now, one of our big things that we do is soft wave and decompression therapy.

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For disc issues and spinal conditions, decompression reduces pressure while soft wave

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stimulates that repair.

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So that combination has become a game changer for many patients who were told surgery was

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their only option.

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Every day we have people coming to the clinic where we save them from actually getting

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underneath the knife.

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Now here's other cool ways where we focus on inflammatory issues.

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So soft wave and PMF and red light therapy.

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These therapies improve cellular energy.

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We can even combine these with the chiropractic piece and the decompression, but they can,

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these therapies improve cellular energy, which is ATP production, identifying trisphosphate,

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which just naturally as you get older, that digresses.

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So, you want to be improving that through other modalities and it reduces inflammation across

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the board.

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So, think of it as giving the cells more fuel so the healing process happens faster and more

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efficiently.

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Hey, busy professionals and parents.

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Let me ask you something.

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Do you need help with your low energy, stubborn weight, brain fog, gut issues or hormones, but

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you don't know where to start?

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Well, you're not alone.

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The biggest problem is that modern healthcare is designed to diagnose disease, but often

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misses the dysfunction that begins years earlier as under the surface symptoms.

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That's exactly why I created the Functional Medicine Starter System.

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00:10:40
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No guessing, no generic protocols, just real data and a clear plan.

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So if you're tired of searching for answers, but you're not sure how to begin solving your

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yourself again.

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Now, let's get back to the episode.

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And then, what Softwave uses for functional medicine.

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Does that even make sense?

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Yes, it does.

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So if inflammation is high, hormones are off or nutrients are depleted.

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So healing slows down, addressing those underlying dramatically conditions dramatically

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improves the outcomes when we utilize soft wave.

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So, here's the key takeaway here.

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Soft wave initiates healing and the other therapies allow healing to actually stick.

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So here's some real world patient results.

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What's been most exciting for us is seeing what happens when you put everything together.

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And what we've worked with patients who actually tried injections, cortisol injections,

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right?

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Those are very temporary and time based.

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We're told that surgery was inevitable, you're going under the knife regardless, and they just

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had to get a second opinion and had shockwave therapy somewhere else with minimal

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improvement.

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So when we combine the softwave with proper alignment, decompression and cellular support,

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we started seeing something different.

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Not overnight miracles, but consistent, durable improvements.

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So people with that are in less pain, better mobility, faster recovery timelines over and

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over and over again, you can look at our reviews.

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These are real results of real people.

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And most importantly, patients get back to doing the things they actually care about, and

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that's what we care about at our clinic.

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So I've told you about who Softwave is for, and I didn't talk about who it isn't, this isn't

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for.

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I want to be very clear about something.

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Softwave is not for everyone, and it's ideal for somebody with chronic joint pain, tendon

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and ligament injuries, degenerative conditions, or people who want real healing, not a quick

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fix.

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It's not ideal for acute fractures, people expecting a one session miracle.

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This is that's not going to be the case.

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We usually like seeing at minimum of six to 12 is the range if not even a little bit more and

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anyone willing to unwilling to address the underlying cause of their condition.

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And we're honest about that.

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If it's not a right fit for you, we're gonna tell you.

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So in closing, let's wrap this up.

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Shockwave therapy is trending.

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Yes, it is.

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We won't deny that.

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Softwave therapy is actually proven.

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So pain relief is not the same as regeneration.

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And the single therapies rarely produce long term results.

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Your body already knows how to heal.

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Our job is to give it the right signal and the right environment.

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If you're curious about whether soft wave therapy or a combination approach is right for

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you, we'd love to talk to you.

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Come in for a consultation.

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You can look it up at alessifxhealth.com or ascendfunctionalhealth.com.

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You can hit the book now button and get sign up for either a physical medicine consultation or

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a functional medicine consultation and meet with one of our doctors and they'll walk you

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through everything that you need to know.

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But it's important to know the understanding behind, and we are education driven first of

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the differences between these two pair therapies.

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So shockwave versus softwave therapy, which we use every day at the clinic.

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Softwave therapy is our main modality, and it helps many, many people.

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So thanks for listening in.

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We'll see you on the next episode.

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