Even if you stay fit, healthy and active, injuries happen. And sometimes, the wear-and-tear of small issues and accidents can snowball into larger consequences, especially as we age. In December 2025, Toby Wood fell off a ladder at work and his shoulder took the brunt of that sudden jerking movement. After self-medicating for a month, he finally sought medical treatment when the pain and limited mobility didn’t improve.
Scans revealed that he had calcification in his shoulder tendon, which caused it to become brittle and less elastic over time. This resulted in the tendon tearing instead of springing back into place as designed. Calcification can occur with age or repeated injuries. Wood was anxious to avoid open surgery – in which the small, pebble-like calcifications are manually scraped out by a surgeon – and eventually discovered Shockwave treatments at Penrose Physical Therapy.
Shockwave Therapy uses high-energy sound waves to, amongst other things, break down calcification deposits. Wood received a total of six Shockwave sessions followed by traditional physical therapy. Today, his X-rays show that the calcium buildup is gone and he was recently cleared by his primary care physician to return to work.
“My mindset is to always look for cause, correction and confirmation in life,” says Wood. “In this case that was the calcification, Shockwave Therapy and finally clean x-rays.”
While he admits that the Shockwave procedure can be physically uncomfortable, Penrose staff “worked with me and my pain tolerances,” says Wood. “Your Shockwave operator really does matter because they can make it bearable and adjust both the speed and intensity to what you can handle so it’s not too much.”
More than simply removing calcification, Shockwave Therapy stimulates healing blood flow to the targeted region, triggers a release of natural growth factors and stem cells, and reduces both inflammation and pain signals in your body. There is no risk of infection or scarring like with traditional surgery and prescription antibiotics or long recovery periods aren’t required.
Without treatment, typical tendon calcifications can take years to resolve. Wood hopes others suffering from this kind of injury won’t resort to self-medication, a powering-through-the-pain attitude or lost work like he did.
For a list of conditions treated by Shockwave Therapy or to apply for a free discovery session, visit the Penrose Physical Therapy website or call 360.456.1444 to get started. You can even ask questions in advance to find out which treatments are right for you.
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