The same sound-wave technology that urologists have long used to shatter kidney stones is increasingly being marketed at clinics across the United States for a very different purpose: treating erectile dysfunction.
Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy involves a wand-like device that delivers pulses of sound waves to several areas of the penis over a 15- to 20-minute session, typically repeated over six to 12 visits at a cost of several hundred dollars each, according to Science News. Unlike drugs such as sildenafil, which temporarily boost blood flow, the treatment is pitched as addressing an underlying cause: doctors offering it argue the energy stimulates tissue repair and new blood vessel growth in men with vascular-related dysfunction linked to diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
The energy creates microscopic mechanical stresses at the cellular level.
Taylor Kohn, urologist
The evidence behind that promise remains thin. A Cochrane Library review of 21 studies found the therapy might produce a small improvement in erectile function within a few months, with a possible but unproven longer-term benefit — a conclusion weakened by how much the underlying studies varied in design. A separate 2026 review in Sexual Medicine Reviews found the research base too inconsistent in session counts and energy levels to draw firm conclusions, and no consensus exists on what a standard treatment protocol should even look like.
The treatment is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for erectile dysfunction, and both the American Urological Association and the Sexual Medicine Society of North America say the evidence isn't strong enough to recommend it outside of clinical trials or formal research settings. On the reassuring side, no studies have reported evidence of lasting harm, with side effects generally limited to mild skin irritation from the gel used during treatment.
That hasn't slowed its spread. A survey found at least 152 clinics offering the therapy across eight major U.S. metro areas as of 2022, a number that has likely grown since. Only about a quarter of those clinics had a urologist on staff; the rest were run by primary care physicians, plastic surgeons, dermatologists and even chiropractors — a mix that has some specialists urging patients to ask pointed questions before booking a session built on borrowed medical technology and an unproven promise.