Focused shockwave therapy for ED
ED treatment does not have to mean taking a tablet every time you want sex.
A drug-free treatment that works differently from a tablet taken before sex. Focused acoustic pulses are used to support the blood vessels involved in erections, given as a short course of clinic sessions.
- No drugs
- No needles
- No surgery
- No planned downtime
How it works
Supporting the blood vessels involved
Getting and keeping an erection depends on blood entering the erectile tissue and remaining there.
When the small blood vessels involved become less healthy, erections can become weaker, less reliable, or harder to maintain. Focused acoustic pulses are applied with the aim of supporting repair in those small blood vessels. Any improvement is gradual, usually developing over the weeks following treatment.
This is what sets it apart from a tablet. Rather than producing an effect for a few hours, the aim is to work on the blood flow itself — so that in time an erection can happen more naturally, without something taken beforehand.
What to expect
What treatment involves
Treatment is applied externally, in short appointments of around 20 minutes.
Medical consultation
We discuss the likely cause of your ED, your general health and medication, and whether shockwave is a sensible option.
A course of treatment sessions
Short clinic visits, with no anaesthetic. Most men return to their normal activities straight afterwards.
Review your response
Your response is reviewed after the course, and any appropriate next step is discussed with you.
There is nothing to take home and nothing to recover from. Most men fit the sessions around work or the day and simply carry on afterwards.
What the trials show
What the evidence shows
In pooled clinical trials, men's erectile-function scores rose after a course of focused shockwave.
Men’s erectile-function scores rose from about 15 to 19 after a course — a gain of roughly four points on the 25-point scale.
Enough to move a typical score up a category. Men given a dummy treatment barely changed — the marker shows where scores started.
Pooled averages from randomised, sham-controlled trials in men with blood-flow-related ED. They describe groups of men, not a prediction for any one person.
The evidence, in detail
The strongest single source is a meta-analysis pooling the randomised, sham-controlled trials to that date. The figures on this page are drawn from it and a larger 2025 review.
- Main source
- Sokolakis & Hatzichristodoulou, systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, Int J Impot Res 2019
- Participants
- 873 men across 10 sham-controlled randomised trials
- Population
- Mainly mild-to-moderate vascular (blood-flow-related) erectile dysfunction
- Comparison
- Real focused shockwave vs a sham (dummy) device
- Outcome measured
- Change in validated erectile-function questionnaire score
- Result
- Average improvement of about 4 points greater than sham, and a higher chance of reaching a firmer erection score
- Corroboration
- A 2025 review of 32 trials (1,986 men) found benefit sustained up to 12 months, strongest in vascular ED, with twice-weekly treatment
- Main limitation
- Trial protocols and devices vary; guidelines still class the treatment as investigational; durability beyond 12 months is not well established
Shockwave vs tablets
How is this different from tablets?
Tablets and focused shockwave work in different ways. Tablets act for a few hours after each dose; shockwave is given as a course, with the aim of supporting the blood vessels involved in erections.
For some men the draw is a treatment that does not have to be taken each time, and is not tied to the moment. They work in different ways, and neither is right for everyone.
Tablets
Boosts blood flow for a few hours around each dose. The effect lasts while the tablet is active, then fades.
- Can work from the first dose
- Well established, with the strongest evidence
- Simple to take at home
- Taken each time, before sex
- Effect is temporary
- Can cause side effects or clash with some medicines
Focused shockwave
A course of treatment aimed at the blood vessels involved, working towards improvement that is not tied to the timing of each dose.
- A course of six (sometimes twelve) clinic sessions, not an ongoing prescription
- An option that does not involve medication at the time
- Can sometimes help where tablets are not working well
- Not an instant fix — any improvement is gradual
- Evidence base is smaller and more mixed than for tablets
- Not suitable for every type or severity of ED
Many men can keep using tablets during or after a course if they wish — the two are not mutually exclusive. Which approach suits you depends on the cause and severity of your ED.
Suitability
Who is it most likely to help?
The evidence is most favourable in men whose ED is related to blood flow, and whose difficulty is mild to moderate rather than complete.
By “blood-flow-related” we mean ED linked to the health of the small blood vessels — the most common type, and the kind more likely in men with age-related change, diabetes, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, extra weight or a history of smoking. By “mild to moderate” we mean erections that have become weaker or less reliable, rather than absent altogether. These factors point towards who tends to respond, but they do not decide it on their own — and shockwave is also worth considering when tablets have caused side effects or have not worked well enough.
Focused shockwave is not the answer for every cause of ED, which is why the consultation comes first.
Younger men are welcome too
ED is far more common in younger men — broadly, those in their twenties and thirties — than most people realise, and it is nothing to be embarrassed about. In many otherwise-healthy younger men, blood tests are normal and no clear problem with blood flow is found; the cause is more often psychological, or a mix.
It is worth being straight about this before you book: because focused shockwave works on blood flow, in men with no vascular cause it probably will not help in most cases. What a consultation does give you is an honest medical assessment of your ED and what will genuinely help — which, for a younger man, is often cardiovascular fitness, lifestyle and, where relevant, psychological support that does more than any device.
Dr Shah will give you the full picture, talk through where focused shockwave might or might not fit, and help you decide what is right for you. If it is not the right treatment, he will tell you plainly — and point you toward what is.
Who treats you
Personally treated by Dr Gohar Shah
Every consultation and every treatment session is carried out personally by Dr Gohar Shah — a GMC-registered doctor, practising NHS GP and MRCGP.
Treatment is delivered using the STORZ DUOLITH SD1 T-TOP ULTRA, a focused shockwave device.
Focused, not radial — the difference that matters
“Shockwave” is used loosely across the market, and this is the most important thing to understand before choosing a clinic. Many high-street clinics, gyms and salons offer “ED shockwave” on radial pressure-wave machines — lower-energy devices, often the same units used for muscle and tendon work, that spread their energy across the surface.
The clinical evidence this treatment rests on was built almost entirely on focused devices, which deliver a controlled wave to a set depth. Radial machines were not what the trials used, and the evidence for radial in ED is weak. A radial-based service can honestly call itself “shockwave” while offering something the research does not actually support.
So if you are comparing clinics, one question separates the two: is it focused or radial? Many cannot give a straight answer.
Here, we have only ever used a focused shockwave device — the STORZ Duolith — so that you get the technology the evidence actually supports, not a lower-powered machine marketed under the same name.
Equipped and supported through Venn Healthcare, a UK medical shockwave supplier.Pricing
How much does treatment cost?
A consultation is £80, credited in full against the cost of treatment.
£1,500
Six sessions · or three interest-free payments of £500
- Medical consultation (£80, credited)
- Six focused shockwave sessions
- Review of your response after the course
Or spread the cost
0% interestThree interest-free monthly payments — no credit application, no interest. Arranged at your consultation.
Before treatment, a simple set of blood tests is needed to check it is likely to help and safe for you. These can be arranged through Dr Shah or your own GP, or recent results may be used if current. Men with higher vascular risk are sometimes advised a longer course; this is discussed at your consultation.
Before you decide
What you should know
Focused shockwave is generally well tolerated, but results vary and it is not suitable for every cause of ED.
Results vary between men, and improvement is not guaranteed.
Reported side effects are usually mild and short-lived. These can include temporary tenderness, redness or bruising.
New or worsening ED can occasionally be an early sign of heart, hormonal, neurological or psychological problems worth checking.
If another treatment or a referral is the better route for you, that is what will be recommended.
Questions
Frequently asked
Does treatment hurt?
Most men find it easily tolerable — a tapping sensation during the session. No anaesthetic is normally needed.
What actually happens during a session?
You lie comfortably on a treatment couch. A small handpiece is applied to the shaft of the penis using gel and a disposable cover, and moved over the area during the session. No anaesthetic is used, as some sensation is part of how the treatment works. It is a clinical, unhurried procedure — and you are able to position yourself and stay covered as much as possible throughout.
Will anyone else be in the room?
No. Every consultation and treatment is carried out by Dr Shah alone, in a private one-to-one setting. You will not be passed to a nurse or technician at any point.
Is my privacy protected? What will show on my statement?
Your information is confidential and stays under your control. Nothing identifying the treatment appears on your card statement — it shows only the company name, the same as for any other service. At the end of your course you are given a clinical letter, which you are welcome (but not required) to share with your own GP for continuity of care.
Do I need blood tests first?
Yes — a simple set of blood tests is taken before treatment to check it is likely to work and is safe for you. Dr Shah can arrange these, your own GP can do them, or recent results may be used if they are current. It is part of treating this properly, rather than simply selling sessions.
Which machine is used, and does it matter?
Yes, it matters — treatment here is always with a focused device (the STORZ Duolith), not a radial one. The difference, and why it is worth asking every clinic, is explained in full in the section above on who treats you.
How long is each session?
The treatment itself usually takes around 20 minutes. You come in and carry straight on with your day afterwards.
When might I notice a change?
Any change is gradual rather than immediate, and would be expected to develop over the weeks following the course rather than on the day of a session.
Can I keep using ED tablets?
In many cases the two can be used together — but any change to your medication should only be made on medical advice. This is discussed as part of the plan that suits you.
How long might improvement last?
Trials have followed men for up to a year, though the durability of benefit varies between men and beyond a year is not well established. Some men are advised a further course later; this is decided on your individual response, not booked automatically.
What if shockwave is not suitable for me?
Then you will be told, and pointed toward a more appropriate option or referral. The consultation commits you to nothing.
How much does the programme cost?
A six-session course is £1,500 (or three payments of £500). The consultation is £80, credited in full against treatment.
Ready when you are
Book a consultation
A discreet, one-to-one consultation with Dr Shah — no need to explain the problem more than once, and the same doctor throughout.
Prefer to write? Send a confidential enquiry below and Dr Shah will reply personally.
Your consultation and treatment are provided personally by Dr Gohar Shah (GMC 6127983), at a private consulting room in Bethnal Green.