Get Back to Pain-Free Movement -

Regenerative Relief Without Injections or Downtime!

Softwave Therapy for Knee or Shoulder Pain in Charleston, SC

From serious sports injuries causing tissue damage to bone issues and stiffness that comes with age, living with pain is, well, a pain. But it's more than that - it's a stressful, often upsetting way to get through your day, month, and year. Have you ever tried to get out of bed with sore, stiff knees? Most folks would rather just get back in bed. Think you might try exercising with plantar fasciitis? Don't plan on running far or doing cardio for very long. Torn rotator cuff? Without proper treatment, your life might not ever be the same.

Living with pain and the inevitable issues that come with age can seriously affect your wellbeing and happiness. Sure, you could wake up every morning and rely on addicting medications to help you move. Or, you could risk further injury and damage with invasive surgeries that require long periods of recovery and downtime. But those can't be the only two options for treatment, can they?

Fortunately, a new, natural, non-invasive treatment for pain is revolutionizing the medical industry and transforming people's lives. It's giving athletes, average folks, and people of a certain age a reason to be hopeful. It's called Softwave therapy, and unlike many fly-by-night medications and sketchy treatments, it's backed by science and provided by Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine.

If you're barely making it through the day suffering from chronic pain, this FDA-approved drug-free treatment may be for you. Softwave therapy has already been used by thousands of people around the country living with issues like shoulder pain, knee pain, and plantar fasciitis. You could be next.

What is Softwave Therapy?

Though its popularity has only grown in recent years, Softwave therapy - also known as shockwave therapy - has been around for years. In fact, the first systematic study into the benefits of shockwave therapy took place way back in 1950. So, what is Softwave therapy?

Softwave therapy is a method of treatment that works incredibly well for mobility rehab, pain relief, and full-body recovery, usually from chronic pain or injuries. Softwave therapy uses a device emitting low-energy soundwaves that target a patient's injured area. These low-intensity waves boost blood flow and kickstart your body's natural healing processes, relieving long-term pain and helping your body to heal a wide range of injuries and conditions.

Softwave therapy works especially well for:

  • Better-Blood-Flow Better Blood Flow
  • Collagen Stimulation Collagen Stimulation
  • Reducing Inflammation Reducing Inflammation
  • healing factors Kickstarting cell growth and healing factors
  • Breaking down Breaking down build-ups of calcium

The main targets in the body include bones, tendons, and other soft tissues, which are encouraged to regenerate and repair via the shockwaves. Often, shockwave therapy is used in conjunction with other non-invasive treatments like chiropractic care, which we offer at Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine. The results are often incredible, leaving patients wondering why they never tried Softwave therapy before.

With FDA clearance, little to no side effects, and quick application time, Softwave therapy is a welcome alternative for people suffering from pain. Who wants to spend weeks or months recovering from a surgery that might not even work? Likewise, who would want to become dependent on over-the-counter or, even worse, prescription pain meds? Living a life of addiction is a road nobody wants to go down.

Softwave therapy represents a revolution in non-invasive pain treatment; best of all, it's highly effective. Independent studies prove that shockwave therapy helps with pain. 65-91% of patients using shockwave therapy experienced real-deal improvements in damaged muscle and bone tissue, solving their mobility problems and drastically reducing pain. It almost sounds too good to be true, but as many patients at Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine will tell you - it isn't.

Some of the most common conditions that Softwave therapy treats include:

Softwave Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis in Charleston, SC

When you get up in the morning and go to the bathroom to brush your teeth, do you notice a stabbing, sharp pain near your heel? Does the pain go away once you have a chance to walk around? If so, you could have plantar fasciitis. According to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, this painful condition is quite common. About two million people suffer from plantar fasciitis every year, and almost 10% of all people will experience the condition at least once in their life.

 Shoulder Pain Charleston, SC

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

This common foot issue happens when the plantar fascia - a fan-shaped tissue near your heel - gets inflamed. The plantar fascia is a thick strip of connective tissue that links your toes to your heel bone, helping to preserve the arch of your foot. When this band is strained, it causes intensely sharp pain, usually in the morning when you wake up and plant your feet on the floor.

Most folks ignore plantar fasciitis because the pain eventually goes away throughout the day. However, if left untreated, plantar fasciitis can lead to weakness and chronic pain, which may affect daily walking.

Some causes of plantar fasciitis include:

  • Playing Sports
  • Standing or Working on Feet for Long Periods of Time
  • Working or Exercising on Hard Floor Surfaces
  • Exercising Without Stretching
  • Wearing Shoes with Minimal Foot Support
  • Long Periods of Standing or Walking Barefoot

Do Traditional Treatment Options Work?

The short answer to this question is not really. Patients with plantar fasciitis will ice the affected area with little-to-no relief since they spend so much time on their feet. It's hard to rest an achy heel if you've got a job that requires you to be on your feet. Anti-inflammatory meds like Advil don't work all that well, either. They may provide temporary pain relief, but in terms of a long-term solution, taking these drugs will cause major side effects.

  Back Pain Charleston, SC
 Chiropractic Care Charleston, SC

The Benefits of Shockwave Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis in Charleston, SC

When more conservative treatment options like ice and over-the-counter meds don't work, most doctors turn to ultra-expensive orthotics, steroid injections, or invasive surgery. For the average person, those options fail on all fronts, as they carry risks for side effects and may even cause the issue to worsen.

Instead of going under the knife or changing their daily routines, many people suffering from plantar fasciitis are turning to Softwave therapy for relief.

During a shockwave therapy session, our expert providers use a special probe to deliver pressure waves to inflamed tissue. These waves trigger natural healing processes causing new blood vessels to form. In turn, oxygen is supplied to the affected area, reducing inflammation and causing healthy cells to regenerate. Shockwave therapy also produces collagen, which is crucial for connective tissue health.

With just a few visits, many patients find long-term relief from plantar fasciitis without relying on strange drugs or harmful surgeries.

Softwave Therapy for Knee Pain in Charleston, SC

Living with knee pain is just miserable. From knee tendonitis to osteoarthritis, knee pain can prevent you from enjoying activities and affect your day-to-day life. Your knee is a joint comprised of cartilage, bone, ligaments, and fluids. Tendons and muscles within the knee help the joint move. When one of these crucial knee structures is hurt or compromised, it results in knee pain and long-lasting knee problems. This, in turn, leads to difficulty walking at best and debilitating knee issues at worse.

 Therapy Services Charleston, SC

What Causes Knee Pain?

If you're an active person or somebody who plays sports often, you're probably all too familiar with knee pain - especially common conditions like patellar tendinopathy. Also called "jumpers knee," this issue happens at the patellar tendon, which is found on the front of the knee just under the knee cap. When living with this condition, most patients experience pain around the kneecap or lower down on the leg around the tibia.

In addition to injuries and issues like jumper's knee, everyday wear and tear will cause knee pain over time. With time, this knee pain can develop into arthritis. If your knees are swollen, painful, or stiff, you may have arthritis in your knees. Regardless of the kind of knee pain you're experiencing, treatment options have been limited to agonizing surgeries and addicting pain medications. But that all changes with shockwave therapy for knee pain in Charleston, SC.

The Benefits of Softwave Therapy for Knee Pain

Though no two knee pain problems are exactly the same, shockwave therapy has been shown to be highly effective for knee pain. In fact, many patients at Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine find relief after just one session. Many times, sessions can be completed in as little as 30 minutes. So if you want to find relief for knee pain on your lunch break, that's definitely possible.

As is the case with plantar fasciitis, Softwave therapy works by sending sound wave and low-energy impulses to the affected area of your knee. These pulses stimulate your body's healing factors, which can help regenerate and repair damaged tendons and tissues. Softwave therapy for knee pain is especially promising for people who have tried other treatments - like surgery and pain meds - with disappointing results.

Benefits include:

  • No Surgery
  • No Medications
  • Pain-Free Treatment
  • Long-Term Relief
  • Enhanced Range of Knee Motion
  • No Risks of Addiction
  • Short Treatment Sessions
  • Quick Relief

Does Shockwave Therapy for Knee Pain Really Work?

Several studies and reviews prove that Softwave therapy can be very beneficial for people suffering from knee pain problems like jumper's knee. A study involving 66 patients with knee pain found that they enjoyed a significant improvement in their reported pain levels with Softwave therapy. In fact, knee pain was reduced by nearly 50% after a single month. When combined with other regenerative and physical therapy treatments at Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine, your days of living with knee pain are numbered.

Softwave Therapy for Shoulder Pain in Charleston, SC

Here's a fact for you to consider: Every joint that you have in your body plays a part in your day-to-day life. But when we think of joint issues, we typically jump to knee issues. However, your knees aren't the only joints in your body to go through wear and tear. Your shoulders experience just as much, if not more, wear and tear than your knees. We put a strain on our shoulders just about every time we use or move our arms. Our shoulders play a pivotal part in living a normal life. When they begin to deteriorate over time due to age or overuse, it creates a litany of painful problems.

Softwave Therapy For Knee Pain Charleston, SC

What Causes Shoulder Pain?

There are many causes of shoulder pain, like deterioration, inflammation, and trauma. Of the many painful shoulder conditions affecting Americans yearly, rotator cuff tendonitis and arthritis are very common. Also called calcific tendinitis, rotator cuff pain is caused by built-up calcium deposits on the shoulder's tendons, which connect your rotator cuff to nearby muscles and bones. This painful condition is usually linked to sports, like basketball and volleyball, or in professions requiring repetitive movements, like in the plumbing industry.

Some common symptoms of shoulder pain and rotator cuff tendinitis include:

  • Swelling
  • Weakness of the Arm
  • Limited Range of Motion
  • Shoulder Stiffness or Tenderness
  • Disturbed Sleep
  • Dull, Achy Pain

Though strengthening exercises and some medications provide temporary relief for shoulder pain, they're not meant as long-term solutions. Luckily, Softwave therapy for rotator cuff pain in cityaname, state, can help.

How Does Shockwave Therapy Heal Shoulder Pain?

Shockwave therapy has been shown to work wonders for shoulder pain. Low-intensity shockwaves break up calcium deposits and jumpstart your body's healing processes, stimulating blood flow and healthy cell growth. Shockwave treatment is especially effective for long-term shoulder pain since it releases stem cells, sends growth factors to the affected area, and boosts capillary production. Shockwave therapy has also been shown to break down scar tissue and eliminate trigger points, all of which decrease shoulder pain. This relief is most often long-lasting, unlike other treatments like medications and injections.

Does Softwave Therapy for Shoulder Pain Really Work?

Many studies support the efficacy of Softwave therapy for shoulder conditions like rotator cuff pain and calcific tendonitis of the shoulder. In a study of 84 patients living with long-term rotator cuff tendonitis, participants in the treatment group saw a significant decrease in the intensity of their shoulder pain. Another study related to shockwave therapy for calcific tendonitis found that 86.6% of patients experienced fewer calcifications.

If you're having to live with rotator cuff pain or another type of shoulder issue, choosing Softwave therapy may be your best course of action.

Struggling with ED/Erectile Dysfunction that won't improve?

Get your first treatment for ONLY $49

Live a Pain-Free Life with Softwave Therapy from Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine

Whether you're sick of living with intense heel pain from plantar fasciitis, the mobility issues associated with knee pain, or the day-to-day struggles of rotator cuff degeneration, you'll find hope at Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine. Unlike some medical clinics, our team of doctors and specialists focus on an integrative, multidisciplinary approach to healing. Instead of relying on addictive medications and invasive surgeries, we prefer to address the underlying causes that our patients face.

We combine several all-natural pain relief therapies so that your shoulder pain, knee pain, joint pain, and foot pain go away for good. We resolve pain by using healing treatments that restore function and improve mobility for the long term. Our state-of-the-art regenerative medicine treatments, used hand-in-hand with proven chiropractic techniques, will stimulate your body's healing power from within. If your pain is related to muscles, nerves, and bones, our doctors can help you overcome discomfort, injury, or medical conditions affecting these systems.

If you've been unable to resolve your pain or have become dependent on painkillers to cope, Softwave therapy may be the natural solution you need. It all starts with a quick call to our office, so we can begin to understand your needs. When you come for your first visit, our doctors will find the personalized treatment you need so that you can manage your pain in a non-invasive and drug-free environment manner.

Latest News in Charleston, SC

Shrimpers name Charleston restaurants accused of falsely advertising local shrimp, but get pushback

MOUNT PLEASANT — Boats sat idle in Shem Creek around noon July 2, as diners sauntered into restaurants along the crowded strip to peruse menus featuring all kinds of seafood, from crab to flounder to grouper.Shrimp, a hotly debated topic in recent weeks, is offered fried, boiled, blackened or piled onto grits at many of the establishments ...

MOUNT PLEASANT — Boats sat idle in Shem Creek around noon July 2, as diners sauntered into restaurants along the crowded strip to peruse menus featuring all kinds of seafood, from crab to flounder to grouper.

Shrimp, a hotly debated topic in recent weeks, is offered fried, boiled, blackened or piled onto grits at many of the establishments in this popular tourist section of the Charleston area.

Just beyond Shem Creek's restaurant row, manager Sarah Fitch assisted customers outside Mt. Pleasant Seafood, a family-owned retailer founded in 1945. The market currently sells three types of shrimp.

One is locally sourced. Two are imported.

Mt. Pleasant Seafood's signage does not denote its shrimp as local or imported, but the staff is transparent with customers about where it's coming from, Fitch told The Post and Courier within earshot of patrons waiting in line.

But not every local business is being open about its sourcing methods, members of the shrimping industry allege.

About six miles away at another popular tourist area in downtown Charleston, the S.C. Shrimpers Association and its lawyer announced they had added the names of 25 Charleston area restaurants to an existing lawsuit that accused 40 establishments of selling imported shrimp while advertising them as being local or wild caught.

The 25 restaurants cited by name extend from Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant to downtown Charleston, up to North Charleston and Summerville, across West Ashley and out to Folly Beach. Some are widely known, with others less so.

Addressing reporters in front of the Pineapple Fountain at Waterfront Park, Bryan Jones and Rocky Magwood of the S.C Shrimpers Association and the organization's attorney, Gedney Howe IV, criticized the practice of passing off imported shrimp as local.

"It's obviously the shrimpers, like myself, Rocky, and the entire fleet throughout South Carolina, that are affected when they're undercut by restaurants not buying our shrimp and then purchasing imported shrimp and selling it as local," Jones said.

Those claims met pushback from members of the seafood industry, including some of the restaurants that have been singled out — with many denying they have done anything to directly mislead customers.

The cost of imported shrimp is significantly cheaper, said the managers at Red's Ice House, Tavern & Table and Sunsets Waterfront Dining, all located along Shem Creek. At other establishments, including Mt. Pleasant Seafood, owners said cost coupled with a lack of local availability create a need for imported shrimp.

The release of restaurant names came weeks after 40 out of 44 restaurants tested in the Charleston area were alleged to be misleading customers with the sale of imported shrimp. In announcing the initial results in June, SeaD Consulting of Texas publicly identified the four restaurants found to be selling local or wild-caught shrimp, and accurately advertised as such. Left out were the names of the 40 other establishments.

SeaD's testing was commissioned by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, an industry trade association based in Tarpon Spring, Fla. SeaD officials declined a Post and Courier interview request.

The names of the remaining 15 businesses aren't expected to be released in the immediate future.

Owners spotlighted by the research firm largely refuted the claims that they mislead customers. Questions remain about how SeaD Consulting carried out its testing, as well as what criteria were used in determining which restaurants to test and how conclusions were drawn.

Ongoing litigation

Testing results culminated with the Shrimpers Association filing a federal lawsuit on June 13 against all 40 restaurants initially accused of selling imported shrimp. An updated complaint was filed July 2 to name 25 businesses, but not the remaining ones.

It's unclear what the association, as well as SeaD Consulting, consider to be fraudulent. Howe said the Southern Shrimp Alliance, the group that funded the study, provided the restaurant list to the S.C. Shrimper’s Alliance.

SeaD officials would not address how the 44 places were selected to be tested, nor what the company considers to be fraudulent. SeaD's testing took place in late May, about a week before the commercial trawling season opened.

The lawsuit accuses the restaurants of false advertising and violating South Carolina's Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Lanham Act, a federal law that prohibits false advertising. According to the lawsuit, restaurant defendants "falsely advertised shrimp served in their establishments as 'local,' 'Carolina-caught' (and) 'fresh South Carolina shrimp,' among other misrepresentations."

"The SeaD Consulting results that we've been provided do not specify … which of the specific rules may have been violated to indicate that that facility had a violation. We've checked on every one that we've named, and we found things that we believe violated with the state of federal law," Howe said.

These are restaurants that SeaD Consulting determined were not actively advertising their shrimp as local, Howe said. Following a thorough review of menus, restaurant décor and marketing materials, The Post and Courier found no indications that many of the 25 restaurants explicitly claim to be selling wild-caught shrimp.

Some of the restaurants may not be familiar to the average Charleston diner. But the testing results paint a broad picture of alleged deceit in a restaurant industry reliant on places serving seafood.

SeaD’s list featured Dockside Charlie's, a virtual kitchen operating out of O’Charley's. It is only available through online delivery services.

"We take the quality and standards of our seafood very seriously," a spokesman for Dockside Charlie's said in a statement. "We have yet to be served anything related to the lawsuit in question and, as such, cannot comment on something which we have not seen. If and when we receive more information, we will, of course, investigate it fully."

The complaint also listed Poseidon's Playground, a food truck in North Charleston, that serves shrimp tacos. Its menu makes no claim that they are made with wild-caught shrimp.

Teri Turner, manager of a Cajun seafood restaurant in North Charleston called Crab Du Jour, said they make no such assertion. The business does not sell locally sourced shrimp and doesn't claim to, she said. Their shrimp comes frozen from an outside provider.

Turner said the restaurant only claims to offer fresh seafood, so she can't figure out why the group was targeting them.

"I think it is unfortunate that they have to lie," she said. "We do good business here, and we are very honest with our customers."

Red’s Ice House lists "local peel ‘n eat shrimp" in its Lowcountry boil, even though the restaurant acknowledged they are sourced from outside the U.S.

"That should have come off our menu a long time ago," said Skipper Kress, a manager at the Shem Creek restaurant. "We don’t get local shrimp right now."

Hyman’s Seafood, a downtown mainstay which draws a line down Meeting Street most days, does not claim to sell wild-caught shrimp in marketing materials. Some of its social media posts in the past, however, have alluded to local sourcing. Hyman’s ownership recognized that those posts implied that “we were serving fresh shrimp, when in fact we were serving imported shrimp at those times."

Charleston firefighters urge public to check fireworks rules ahead of holiday

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Friday is the Fourth of July and Charleston Fire Department officials say they are gearing up and staying prepared for the long weekend ahead.Before you light up the sky, it’s important to know the rules and regulations surrounding fireworks in your local area and keep in mind safety tips.Although it is legal in the state of South Carolina to purchase fireworks if you are above t...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Friday is the Fourth of July and Charleston Fire Department officials say they are gearing up and staying prepared for the long weekend ahead.

Before you light up the sky, it’s important to know the rules and regulations surrounding fireworks in your local area and keep in mind safety tips.

Although it is legal in the state of South Carolina to purchase fireworks if you are above the age of 16, some cities and counties still have their specific regulations and laws that limit both the sale and use of fireworks.

For example, you can set off fireworks in areas of Charleston County, but fireworks are not allowed within Charleston City limits, which includes most of the islands.

So, while the City of North Charleston and the Town of Mount Pleasant generally allow fireworks with some limitations on Independence Day, the rules are not the same for downtown.

The City of Charleston prohibits the use, sale, possession and discharge of any explosive fireworks within city limits. This does not apply to smaller items like sparklers or snap pops, but officials at the Charleston Fire Department warn these can still be dangerous.

“Kids love to use sparklers. They’re very popular at events and at barbecues, but they do burn very hot and the metal rod that is left over can actually be hot for quite a while. So every year, that’s actually one of the items that creates a lot of injuries for young kids. It’s not only the sparkler itself injuring somebody, but also the leftover rod that’s actually often dropped on the ground,” Mike Julazadeh, Deputy Chief Fire Marshall for the City of Charleston, said.

Julazadeh recommends watching professionally permitted shows instead of discharging fireworks yourself. He says the department is prepared for the holiday celebrations and will be out patrolling, but that it is still important to try to stay safe, follow ordinances and call 911 if necessary.

“One of the key things we do is monitor the planned shoots and activities... We often find [that] we’ll have an increase in call volume often for outside fires because people are discharging near dry brush grass or woodland areas and it is dry, it could be windy, and those fires can take off pretty quickly. So we got to be very careful on where you’re using items, not only in the city, but in the surrounding areas because that hazard is present for everyone,” Julazadeh said.

Julazadeh says if you disobey the ordinance within the City of Charleston, you could have the items confiscated and be charged with a misdemeanor. The charge can come with an over $1,000 fine and up to 30 days behind bars.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Charleston restaurants fire back against allegations of 'shrimp fraud'

MOUNT PLEASANT — Diners sat down for lunch at Tavern & Table moments after a July 2 press conference commenced that would rock Charleston's restaurant scene.Wimbledon played on a row of screens behind the bar, where a few guests had grabbed a seat. Most had chosen tables with prime views of Shem Creek.The 11-year-old restaurant pairs the waterfront scenery with crispy shrimp with Calabrian chili honey; peel and eat shrimp; and shrimp and grits, a Lowcountry staple.Nowhere on the menu does it say the shrimp it's...

MOUNT PLEASANT — Diners sat down for lunch at Tavern & Table moments after a July 2 press conference commenced that would rock Charleston's restaurant scene.

Wimbledon played on a row of screens behind the bar, where a few guests had grabbed a seat. Most had chosen tables with prime views of Shem Creek.

The 11-year-old restaurant pairs the waterfront scenery with crispy shrimp with Calabrian chili honey; peel and eat shrimp; and shrimp and grits, a Lowcountry staple.

Nowhere on the menu does it say the shrimp it's serving is local or wild-caught.

The restaurant doesn't — and has never — advertised the use of local shrimp, owner Andy Palmer told The Post and Courier. Tavern & Table sources a mix of U.S. and imported shrimp from US Foods, a restaurant supplier headquartered in Rosemont, Ill. Reasons for this include the large amount of shrimp the chefs roll through on a weekly basis and the cost of imported shrimp versus the catch brought in by South Carolina shrimpers, Palmer said.

Palmer was among other Charleston-area restaurateurs who fought back against claims they are misleading customers by passing off imported shrimp as local. The weekslong debate about a common practice across the Southeast came to a head July 2 when the S.C. Shrimpers Association and its lawyer announced they had added the names of 25 Charleston area restaurants to an existing lawsuit accusing 40 establishments of selling imported shrimp while advertising them as being local- or wild-caught.

Tavern & Table was among those named in the ongoing litigation.

"We don't say anywhere that we use locally-caught shrimp, so I'm not sure how we would mislead anybody," Palmer said. "We use as much local ingredients as possible."

The release came weeks after 40 out of 44 restaurants tested in the Charleston area by research firm SeaD Consulting were alleged to be misleading customers with the sale of imported shrimp. The Texas-based firm only publicly identified the four restaurants found to be selling local- or wild-caught shrimp, and accurately advertised as such, when the initial announcement was made in June.

SeaD's testing was commissioned by the Southern Shrimp Alliance. SeaD officials have declined a Post and Courier interview request. The Tarpon Spring, Fla.-based industry trade association has also failed to provide basic information about some of the restaurants they tested.

Page's Okra Grill, for instance, operates two brick-and-mortar restaurants in the Charleston area as well as a food truck, but SeaD has not stated which one was tested.

This, coupled with a lack of information about how the 44 places were selected to be tested and what SeaD considers to be fraudulent, has led to public outcry among local restaurateurs who said they have been unfairly targeted. In interviews with The Post and Courier and responses via social media, they defended their practices, sharing the reasons why they and others have come to rely on imported shrimp or a mix of imported and U.S.-caught.

Perhaps the most vehement of denials came from the owners of Page's Okra Grill, a mainstay eatery with locations in Mount Pleasant, Summerville and Moncks Corner that was among the 25 added to the suit. Its shrimp and grits has been featured on the Travel Channel and in Southern Living magazine.

In a July 2 Facebook post, ownership said it was "floored" to be named in the lawsuit and agreed that restaurants should not advertise the use of local shrimp on their menus. Page's does not make that claim, the owners wrote in a message that was met with more than 400 comments.

The restaurant serves wild-caught East Coast shrimp and "responsibly farmed imported shrimp," they said, adding that "hundreds of thousands of dollars" will be spent on wild-caught shrimp this year.

Page's serves about 3,000 pounds of shrimp each week, making sourcing a challenge, they said. Ownership previously tried using 100 percent East Coast shrimp several years ago, calling the experiment "a disaster from a supply standpoint and a severe hardship on labor to cut and devein shrimp often dropped on our doorstep hours before service."

Given this, they plan to continue using a mix of wild-caught and imported shrimp, and notifying customers who ask about this practice.

"We prefer to just focus on us and providing great Southern hospitality and serving up great quality Lowcountry recipes at fair pricing so people can afford a great dining experience when they walk through our doors," ownership wrote. "Like all families, our priority is supporting the 300 Lowcountry locals under our roof that make up our team at Page's."

Other restaurants respond

The 25 restaurants cited by name July 2 extend from Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant to downtown Charleston, up to North Charleston and Summerville, across West Ashley and out to Folly Beach. Several of the 25 readily admitted to using imported shrimp after the names were released at a press conference in downtown Charleston.

"We definitely don't do local shrimp, that's a fact," said Sunsets Waterfront Dining manager Adam Moran while referencing a menu that makes no mention of local shrimp.

The Shem Creek eatery has not served local shrimp since opening in 2023, Moran said. Frozen, farm-raised shrimp is purchased from a handful of large food purveyors, including Sysco, mostly because of costs and challenges with sourcing locally, Moran said.

Wreckfish Bar and Grill, operated by Charleston Hospitality Group, also acknowledged the use of imported shrimp while denying any claims that they have promoted or advertised it as wild-caught.

"We consistently use imported shrimp because it offers reliable quality, year-round availability, and is more cost-effective," ownership said via email in response to a series of questions from The Post and Courier. "We have never promoted our shrimp as wild-caught on any public platform — this includes our social media, website and press materials."

The S.C. Shrimpers Association's complaint, which was updated July 2 to include the 25 names, also listed Poseidon's Playground, a food truck in North Charleston that serves shrimp tacos. Its menu makes no claim that they are made with wild-caught shrimp.

"I am not sure why these claims were made or why the 'testing' was done from the start if our menu does not claim 'locally harvested,' 'local seafood,' local shrimp' or any related terms," owner Jonathan Castro wrote in an email.

A day after the restaurants were named in the lawsuit, attorneys for the S.C. Shrimpers Association announced that they’ve already reached a resolution with one restaurant, Hyman’s Seafood.

Owners of the well-known Charleston seafood establishment told the Post and Courier an outside marketing team shared social media posts that implied Hyman’s was serving local shrimp. Hyman’s menus and marketing materials, however, do not claim to sell wild-caught shrimp.

A July 3 press release from Gedney Howe IV, attorney for the SCSA, announced the organization reached a resolution with Hyman’s, whose owners “reaffirmed their commitment to transparency.”

“While we understand the concerns raised, we’ve also listened, learned, and made the decision to do more, because we believe in doing right by our customers, and by our community,” owners Victor and Tobias Hyman said in the press release.

Charleston area restaurants accused of shrimp mislabeling

In a coastal city with a reputation partially built on its shrimp and grits, Charleston favorites like Hyman’s Seafood, Page’s Okra Grill and Charleston Crab House are now under fire for alleged misrepresentation of product.In May, 44 randomly selected restaurants in the Charleston area were part of an eight-state testing commissioned by the Southern Shrimp Alliance to identify the origin of the shrimp served.A...

In a coastal city with a reputation partially built on its shrimp and grits, Charleston favorites like Hyman’s Seafood, Page’s Okra Grill and Charleston Crab House are now under fire for alleged misrepresentation of product.

In May, 44 randomly selected restaurants in the Charleston area were part of an eight-state testing commissioned by the Southern Shrimp Alliance to identify the origin of the shrimp served.

According to test results by SeaD Consulting, four of the 44 restaurants were selling locally caught shrimp and the rest were selling imported shrimp. Thirteen restaurants were unnamed because they didn’t advertise their shrimp as local, according to a news release from SeaD Consulting. But 25 others were called out for misrepresenting the origin of their shrimp. An SC Biz News glance at the social media and online menus of some of those restaurants, including all three named above, found no claims that their shrimp were local, however.

After results were released, the South Carolina Shrimpers Association announced a federal lawsuit concerning the misrepresentation of shrimp origins, according to Bryan Jones, the vice president of the SCSA.

“There have been a lot of restaurants who have reached out that want to do the right thing,” Jones said. “One question I would have for some of the other restaurants, particularly if it becomes an availability issue, is why choose imported instead of getting shrimp from Georgia, North Carolina or the Gulf when its readily available?”

Jones said the shrimpers in the association have tied up boats and stopped working overtime because of an increase in imported shrimp. All shrimpers with the SCSA are small businesses.

“Any restaurant can sell whatever they want, but they have to be honest about it,” said Gedney Howe IV, attorney for the South Carolina shrimpers. “We don’t have a problem with people selling imported shrimp, but we do have a problem with them selling imported shrimp that they say are local.”

The SCSA lawsuit claims violations of both the federal Lanham Act and the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act.

“It’s become clear to me that this is not an isolated problem,” Howe said. “We are witnessing an issue of misrepresentation of outsourcing and a disregard for the people who have fed our communities for generations.”

Jones said even though switching to imported shrimp might be more convenient, the practice also runs the risk of health problems such as bacteria resistant to colistin, a last-resort antibiotic.

“There is absolutely a public health concern,” Jones said. “One of the things we would hate to have happen is somebody gets sick believing they are eating our shrimp when they have consumed imported shrimp unknowingly,”

The four restaurants in the sampling who were selling locally sourced shrimp in Charleston are Acme Lowcountry Kitchen, Coosaw Creek Crab Shack, Grace & Grit and Rappahannock Oyster Bar, according to the study.

In some cases restaurants on the water, such Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, were selling imported shrimp while customers are overlooking shrimp boats.

In the eight-state study being conducted by SeaD Consulting, laws are shown to make a difference in holding restaurants accountable for what their menus advertise. States lacking restaurant labeling laws have shown to have an 80% inauthenticity rate vs. only 34% in states that have restaurant labeling laws in place, according to the release. Currently, there is no restaurant labeling law or pending legislation in the state of South Carolina, the release said.

The list of restaurants that SeaD says was not selling local shrimp includes:

The other 15 restaurants in the sampling process are unidentified. The SCSA suggests customers request to see sourcing containers when ordering shrimp claimed to be locally sourced.

Disclaimer:

This website publishes news articles that contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The non-commercial use of these news articles for the purposes of local news reporting constitutes "Fair Use" of the copyrighted materials as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

More Testimonials From our Happy Patients

  Spinal Decompression Therapy Charleston, SC
  Knee Pain Charleston, SC

Service Areas