Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) is revolutionizing musculoskeletal treatments, as demonstrated by Ken Brown’s impactful work in Jamaica.

Mr. Ken Brown first introduced Storz extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) to Jamaica in 2016. He was contacted by Dr. Akshai Mansingh, Orthopaedic surgeon and Head of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Sports Medicine Clinic, and was brought to Jamaica to the UWI to introduce the ESWT technology.

While many of us as clinicians had been somewhat familiar with or introduced to shock waves in the form of lithotripsy for pathologies such as kidney stones, the majority of us were not familiar with ESWT for musculoskeletal issues. Mr. Brown however provided very thorough demonstrations of the Masterpuls MP200 series unit acquired by Dr. Mansingh and the UWI, to the Sports Medicine Clinic staff; familiarizing us with the research behind ESWT, training us in its use, and also in the multiple features and maintenance of the MP200 unit.

As part of his instruction on treatment using the MP200 for ESWT, Mr. Brown demonstrated a series of movements to do with patients – what he called a special alignment technique – that was to increase the effectiveness of the ESWT treatments especially for soft-tissue problems. This special alignment technique was especially relevant to us Physical Therapists who would be using the ESWT for our patients. We all had the opportunity to practice the alignment technique and treatments using various parameters of the MP200 during Mr. Brown’s live teaching, which would later prove to be most useful to us clinicians who would be using the MP200 in the UWI Sports Medicine Clinic. For us as Physical Therapists Mr. Brown also emphasized the need to accompany ESWT with appropriate adjunct treatments, including relevant exercises and taping techniques; again, these bits of advice have been most useful for us and our patients.

In addition to his instructions and demonstrations, Mr. Brown also provided us with a good amount of relevant literature regarding ESWT as well as the MP200, viz. related articles, web links, and books on ESWT for soft tissue injuries such as tendinopathies. Additionally, given his successful introduction of ESWT to the UWI Sports Medicine Clinic, Mr. Brown was later asked to present on and demonstrate ESWT at the Jamaica Association of Sports Medicine’s Sports Medicine Conference later in 2016, to present the ESWT to a wider audience of physicians, surgeons and Physical Therapists here in Jamaica. His presentation and demonstrations were well received at the conference, with other clinicians expressing interest in obtaining Masterpuls units, some of whom have indeed since purchased for their own practices. He was a very useful addition as a guest speaker at the Sports Medicine conference.

Mr. Brown has continued to make himself available for easy contact with any follow-up questions or issues we may have, including providing helpful tips on using ESWT for various conditions. He continues to be our resource person when it comes to ESWT, and undoubtedly does the same for other facilities that have since purchased Storz Masterpuls units. We are happy to continue our successful relationship with him and with Storz Medical, and would readily recommend him and Storz Medical to other facilities and conferences to present and discuss extracorporeal shockwave technology.

Dr. Dialo-Rudolph B. Brown DPT, MSSM, CSCS

Jamaica, West Indies