Hormesis is all the rage in the wellness, antiaging, and biohacking communities. Hormesis is a Greek word that means “to excite.” In biology, it refers to a short-term dose of something that excites an organism to stimulate change.
Applied to human health, hormesis emphasizes the importance of low doses of stress to prompt tissue repair, regrowth, and optimization.
Hormesis is the principle that underlies shockwave therapy, a novel treatment that stimulates your body to heal. Although shockwave therapy began as a treatment for injuries, forward-thinking physicians now also use it to help your body rejuvenate, revive, and rebuild skin cells.
At Aesthetics, by Dr. Lee in Granite Bay, California, our aesthetic experts may recommend shockwave therapy as a type of hormesis to help your skin cells spring back into action. As guided by our expert physician, Dr. Luis Lee, we may use nonsurgical, noninvasive shockwave therapy to:
How does shockwave therapy create a hormetic state that triggers your own face’s healing powers? Below is a brief description.
Unlike surgery, which cuts your skin, or fillers and threads, which require punctures and needle pricks, shockwave therapy is noninvasive. Shockwave therapy uses acoustic (i.e., sound) waves that penetrate your skin without breaking or heating it.
Pulses of acoustic energy create that brief moment of stress that triggers healing.
Doctors have used high-energy shockwaves to treat medical conditions, such as breaking up kidney stones or adhesions, for more than 50 years. But low-energy shockwaves can stimulate healing more gently in areas such as your face, neck, and buttocks.
As you age, the collagen strands that form the matrix of your skin weaken. Your skin cells don't turn over or replenish themselves as frequently and robustly as they did when you were younger.
It also takes your body longer to get rid of damaged cells or damaged protein strands, like collagen.
Shockwave therapy gives your skin cells the jolt they need to get back to the process of turning over rapidly, rebuilding themselves with fresh collagen, and forming a stronger, firmer matrix. Your skin also builds new blood vessels to keep your fresh, new skin nourished.
In addition to stimulating regrowth, the pressure of the hormetic stress also stimulates the circulation of lymph. Lymph is a fluid that circulates throughout your body, like blood. When lymph circulation slows due to injury or aging tissues, you may develop sagging or puffy-looking skin.
The same principle applies to cellulite treatment. Cellulite isn’t primarily a problem of fat. It’s a skin condition in which tethers of tissue pull the underside of your skin toward your muscle, forcing the fat layer into tufts.
Shockwave therapy breaks apart those tethers, allowing your skin to spring back upward and your fat layer to lie flat, smooth, and dimple-free.
At Aesthetics by Dr. Lee, we offer shockwave therapy as an aesthetic treatment, but we can also enhance your general wellness with this safe, noninvasive modality.
Because shockwave therapy helps your body break down unhealthy tissue and build new tissue, we may recommend it for:
We want you to look beautiful and youthful, but also to be pain-free and healthy. Feel free to bring up any concerns you may have about pain, stiffness, or other issues that compromise your well-being.
Although your skin gets the low-energy, fast jolt of hormetic stress it needs to begin rebuilding itself, you won’t actually be shocked by the sound waves. Instead, they feel like warm pressure or pulsing on your skin.
Shockwave therapy uses thousands of extremely quick energy pulses to stimulate skin healing and rebuilding. Most people describe the sensation as a slight discomfort, rather than pain.
After your treatment, you may experience some temporary bruising or swelling, but you may also experience noticeable changes. Shockwave therapy works quickly. Once cells get the hormetic stress they need, they start repairing and rebuilding immediately.
Does your skin need to be shocked back into its youthful state, or do you need a jolt of stress to alleviate chronic pain? Call us at 916-888-8988 or ask for a shockwave therapy evaluation through our online portal today.
We serve the California communities of Granite Bay, Rocklin, Citrus Heights, Folsom, Lincoln, and the greater Sacramento area.
