With insight and inspiration to focus on preventative care and facilitating active lifestyles, Dr. Veronica Jow, M.D. embarked on creating a unique practice setting. Her sports medicine practice provides best-in-class care, guidance, and treatment from multiple specialists all in one place.

Dr. Veronica Jow, M.D., is a medical doctor board-certified in Internal Medicine and Sports Medicine and the founder of Avid Sports Medicine, an independent sports medicine practice located in the heart of San Francisco, CA. She completed a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Connecticut, a New England university fiercely competitive in sports. There she had the opportunity to learn many valuable lessons and was additionally engaged in community healthcare clinics. Later, while Associate Team Physician at UC Berkeley, she was inspired by the care model there specifically available to the elite athletes.

The Challenge

Distinguished Sports Medicine Physician Dr. Veronica Jow, M.D. sought to deliver better outcomes to patients with acute pain and chronic dysfunction caused by activity and multiple musculoskeletal conditions. Having opened in the summer of 2019 as a new business, Dr. Jow was also focused on differentiating her offerings from her competitors.

Frequently patients don't progress in an ideal fashion with conventional treatments alone, so she was open-minded to new treatment modalities. From professional athletes to the weekend warrior and everyone in between, Dr. Jow's patients come seeking pain relief and improved mobility so they can return to normal activities. Many will do just about anything to avoid painful shots, invasive surgery, and endless physical therapy. Patients look to Dr. Jow for quick results, no downtime, and a return to activities they love.

The Solution

While visiting a physical therapist at an athletic training center to promote her practice, she was asked if she offered shock wave therapy. It turns out there was a professional athlete who played in the WNBA visiting the Bay Area and actively seeking out someone who offered shock wave therapy..

At that moment, she had an epiphany and saw the opportunity in offering shock wave and began investigating. Research and conversations with peers led her to CuraMedix, and she decided to purchase a radial pressure wave (EPAT) device. Now she's able to offer a service not offered by many of her competitors, which enables her to bring relief to her patients safely, more quickly, and with no downtime required.

She finds it advantageous to offer something so effective to patients who are not progressing in their healing at an expected rate when following traditional protocols. By incorporating EPAT in the treatment plan, it facilitates regenerative healing in a few short treatments.

"The WNBA player actually never ended up coming to my office, but I just saw an opportunity to offer something that was non-invasive with minimal to no downtime and very few to no risks. All that combined was what really sold me."

–Dr. Veronica Jow

The Results

In her practice, Dr. Jow has witnessed firsthand the innumerable benefits of combining EPAT, most often with therapeutic exercises. This non-invasive treatment option has created a new flow of patients in search of this regenerative approach to treating pain and provides enhanced treatment options to existing patients.  The addition of EPAT has been a winning proposition for her patients and practice alike.

Initially, upon opening in 2019 in a busy spot of San Francisco, Dr. Jow relied heavily on foot traffic and signage to attract her flow of patients.  Along came Covid. It was a game-changer; when foot traffic evaporated, Avid Sports Medicine pivoted to digital marketing and promoting shock wave has led to an increase in patients, specifically seeking EPAT.

Dr. Jow shared many success stories of how EPAT delivered remarkable outcomes to patients; here's a glimpse below:

Patient 1 – one patient who suffered from hip FAI, femoral acetabular impingement syndrome with some labral fraying, experienced a lot of pain as her body had to be in different positions, and she was getting a lot of pinching and pain, and it was interfering with work as a dentist and her beloved Zumba classes. Dr. Jow reports, “After just six EPAT sessions she has had so much more movement in her hip afterward. It was quite remarkable."

Patient 2 – a professional runner who had been dealing with Achilles issues for a long time eventually had to stop running. One of his running teammates told him about shock wave, so he sought out Avid Sports Medicine for that. Dr. Jow says, "He did great and has gotten right back into running and training for a crazy100-mile races."

Patient 3 – an unusual case of a man with undiagnosed rib pain who had been suffering for over five years. He felt like he could never take a deep breath. Dr. Jow touts, "After EPAT, he is so much better with no pain at all anymore."

To see how Avid Sports Medicine's website features EPAT be sure to click the link.

"I think that people want something that's going to help them feel good right away, and we almost always use EPAT along with exercises and other things. But the ability to decrease their pain right up front is a huge sell. I would say one of the benefits is that you can experience an analgesic component right away. While not covered by insurance, the cost-effective nature of EPAT far outweighs the alternative if you think about how many return visits people come back for when they don't get better."

–Dr. Veronica Jow