1300 Hospital Dr #220
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Effective. Proven. Trusted.
Struggling with Knee or Shoulder Pain that won't improve?
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.
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.
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.
Softwave therapy works especially well for:
Better Blood Flow
Collagen Stimulation
Reducing Inflammation
Kickstarting cell growth and healing factors
Breaking down build-ups of calcium
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.
Book AppointmentSome of the most common conditions that Softwave therapy treats include:
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.
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:
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.
Book Appointment
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.
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.
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 Isle of Palms, SC.
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:
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.
Book AppointmentHere'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.
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:
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 Isle of Palms, SC, can help.
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.
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.
Book AppointmentWhether 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.
Book AppointmentISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - Isle of Palms leaders have applied for permits to dredge parts of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway and the city marina to deepen the water access.The permits, filed in January, note that parts of the marina measure only eight feet deep and the plans are to make the intercoastal entrance 12 feet deep and the Morgan Creek inlet where the marina is located ten feet deep.The project is part of regular upkeep and the last time the marina was dredged was in 2011. Mayor Phillip Pounds says it’s an ...
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - Isle of Palms leaders have applied for permits to dredge parts of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway and the city marina to deepen the water access.
The permits, filed in January, note that parts of the marina measure only eight feet deep and the plans are to make the intercoastal entrance 12 feet deep and the Morgan Creek inlet where the marina is located ten feet deep.
The project is part of regular upkeep and the last time the marina was dredged was in 2011. Mayor Phillip Pounds says it’s an important way to preserve waterway access.
“We spend so much time and effort on the beach side of our island. This marina, this dock, the dredging, you know, it’s the focus on the intercoastal side or the creek area that sometimes doesn’t get as much attention as you like, but again, the purpose of the marina was to provide access to the water for those that didn’t have it,” Pounds says.
In 2023, the State Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism earmarked $1.5 million for the city to spend on dredging. That source will be the main fund for the work, which does not have a final price tag as it is in the early application stage.
“It just naturally silts back in. So it’s time to do that again. So hopefully we’ll get the permit this year, and at some point, line up a contractor and get the project done, maybe late this year, more likely first half of next year,” Pounds says.
The project plans to remove up to 20,000 cubic yards of soil, sand and silt material from the bottom of the channel. There are a few proposals for what to do with those materials.
Ideas include putting the materials under the Isle of Palms connector, onto Goat Island, at Inlet Creek or Swinton Creek on the opposite side of the intercoastal waterway. Another proposal is to put the sediment material on parts of the Wild Dunes Harbor Course, building up the land.
The routine dredging applications come around the same time the city celebrated the opening of its first public dock on the intercoastal waterway.
The mayor and city leaders hope to continue improving the plot of land at 40 51st Avenue making it an asset for visitors and residents alike.
“They’ve added a boat club with our new tenant over here at the marina. So it’s just been a lot of amenities added to this area and improvements made. We’ve invested a lot of time and energy and money, obviously, out here,” Pounds says.
Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD)–The Isle of Palms City Council made a decision on hiring a new executive administrator Wednesday in a special meeting.This comes after controversy surrounding the circumstances under which the candidate was chosen.The city voted to offer Douglas Kerr the position, after he had served previously as the administrative assistant, however many citizens are frustrated saying that proper procedure for selecting Kerr was not followed.Isle of Palms has been searching for a new executive administr...
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD)–The Isle of Palms City Council made a decision on hiring a new executive administrator Wednesday in a special meeting.
This comes after controversy surrounding the circumstances under which the candidate was chosen.
The city voted to offer Douglas Kerr the position, after he had served previously as the administrative assistant, however many citizens are frustrated saying that proper procedure for selecting Kerr was not followed.
Isle of Palms has been searching for a new executive administrator since late 2024 when the previous administrator announced her resignation. They announced Tuesday afternoon that they had chosen the previous administrative assistant Douglas Kerr for the position in a 6 to 3 vote. Mayor Pounds says he believes they hired the best person for the job.
“We’ve had a significant amount of turnover in the last five years in our leadership team, between fire chief, police chief, rec director, finance director. We have a couple other key retirements coming up this year and from my view, institutional knowledge is really critical. There is a lot of projects going on and they are multiyear projects typically and to have some of that history stay with us is critical to keep the city running in a good way,” said Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds.
Last night at the city council meeting, many residents expressed frustration with the selection process. They say Kerr was not one of the five candidates narrowed down by the committee and was added to the list by the mayor without the city’s approval.
“No actions may be taken by the mayor independent of a council vote. So, the process itself, there has never been a public meeting whereby a decision to add Douglas Kerr into the mix of candidates has been made. That’s been researched and that’s a fact. The mayor acted outside his authority, void of process, void of integrity and inserted this candidate into a process where we all knew unfortunately, he had 5 votes to push through and that’s what we witnessed today,” said Randy Bell, a former Isle of Palms city councilmember.
News 2 reached out to the city to confirm the list of five finalists and have not heard back.
Another point of contention in the meeting was the salary increase for the role, which is expected to be between $150,000 and $180,000. During public comment at the February 25th meeting, residents said was an incentive for Kerr to apply for the position, that he had previously not expressed interest in.
Now that Kerr has been offered the position, Mayor Pounds hopes the public can move forward
“The only decision this council needed to make was who is the best person for this job, for this city. In my personal opinion, I feel like we did that. Hopefully we can get it negotiated quickly, and we can move forward,” said Pounds.
Charleston and Isle of Palms agreed to settle a lawsuit against a number of short-term rental companies, including Airbnb and VRBO, in an attempt to recoup some taxes and fees that the businesses owe.Both city and town councils approved a settlement agreement at their respective meetings on Jan. 28. But n...
Charleston and Isle of Palms agreed to settle a lawsuit against a number of short-term rental companies, including Airbnb and VRBO, in an attempt to recoup some taxes and fees that the businesses owe.
Both city and town councils approved a settlement agreement at their respective meetings on Jan. 28. But neither government publicly disclosed how money they will receive from the businesses that have been operating for years without paying local accommodation taxes or business license fees, according to the complaint.
Attorney Jesse Kirchner, who along with two other lawyers, represents 14 South Carolina cities, towns and counties that joined the suit. He told The Post and Courier after Charleston's vote that the deal isn't final until all municipalities sign off. Once all agree, Kirchner said details of the settlement will be released.
Earlier this month, Mount Pleasant Town Council accepted a payout of nearly $500,000 in the same suit. Mayor Will Haynie, the lone vote against the settlement, disclosed the figure that Mount Pleasant would get saying it was not enough to "make up for what it's going to do to this town."
Haynie said he's worried about state legislation that could remove the town's cap on short-term rental permits and essentially open the floodgates to these companies that collect from tourists taxes and fees that never make it to the localities they're visiting.
The municipalities that initiated the lawsuit are some of South Carolina's biggest tourism destinations, including Charleston, Columbia, North Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, North Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island. Mount Pleasant later joined the suit, as did Beaufort County, Edisto Beach, Port Royal and Greenville.
The complaint alleges the companies failed to pay local accommodations taxes and, in some cases, business license fees despite collecting payment from rental operators and vacationers who use their sites.
Annual license fees are based on a businesses' gross income, according to the city of Charleston's website. This year, the city expects to collect $52 million from the licenses — the city's second-highest revenue generator behind property taxes, according to figures from a November budget workshop. The money flows into the city's general fund, which covers its day-to-day operation.
Municipalities across the state levy accommodations taxes of up to 3 percent on hotels and other rented lodgings. In Charleston, the tax is set at 2 percent. The fee is paid by the renter, collected by the hotel or business renting the space, and paid to the municipality.
This year, Charleston expects to bring in nearly $12 million through the local Accommodations Tax, or "A-tax" as its commonly called. The money helps pay for upkeep of popular tourism spots. At the city’s historic Battery, the tax funded a six-year and nearly $75 million restoration of the crumbling century-old sea wall.
Short-term rentals, and how to manage them, have been a sticking point for many communities. Charleston and Folly Beach are among a handful of municipalities that have instituted regulations or caps on short-term rentals. North Charleston recently considered the same.
Editor's note: The headline has been updated to reflect that the pending settlement only involves Airbnb. No other defendant has settled, according to attorney Jesse Kirchner.
Reach Ali Rockett at 843-901-1708. Follow her on Twitter @AliRockettPC.
In suburban Philadelphia where I grew up, going to the beach meant driving east across New Jersey, paying per-person fees for access and pinning "beach tags" to bathing suits to prove the fees had been paid.I've long appreciated South Carolina's free public beaches, first as a child visiting most summers, then as an adult living here more than 20 years.But while the...
In suburban Philadelphia where I grew up, going to the beach meant driving east across New Jersey, paying per-person fees for access and pinning "beach tags" to bathing suits to prove the fees had been paid.
I've long appreciated South Carolina's free public beaches, first as a child visiting most summers, then as an adult living here more than 20 years.
But while the beaches are free, parking can be costly.
Just days ago Anna Sharpe reported that the Isle of Palms has increased its parking lot rate to $25 on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Parking meters must be fed $3 per hour.
The $25 cost for parking lots matches the rate at the 445-parking-space Isle of Palms County Park, which is adjacent to the city's metered parking and lots near Front Beach (Ocean Boulevard) businesses.
That's expensive, but the important thing to know is that paying for parking on the Isle of Palms is almost entirely a matter of personal choice. I mean, you can't avoid paying if you park in a lot or at a meter, but you don't have to park there.
IOP, like neighboring Sullivan's Island, has many hundreds of free parking spots in the public right-of-way. On the Isle of Palms most of them are along Palm Boulevard on the east side of the business district, from 21st to 40th avenues and from 42nd to 53rd avenues.
There are limited spots on the west side of the island, along 3rd through 9th avenues between Ocean and Carolina boulevards.
Those who park in the free spots should know that parking enforcement is quite strict, and vehicles must be at least 4 feet off the pavement, which isn't always easy.
Last year the city's contracted parking enforcers — a company that got to keep 24 percent of the money from fines — issued more than 5,600 tickets for between $50 and $100 each.
One option to avoid fees and parking tickets on weekends is to take the free Beach Reach shuttle bus from Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, at Market Center Boulevard, where parking is free. If you're driving, it's of course inconvenient to stop just minutes from the beach and wait for a bus to take you there, but it does solve the parking dilemma.
When my family was living in Mount Pleasant with a young child, the Isle of Palms was our closest beach. We usually parked in the county park lot, or in a free space not far away, for two reasons: the availability of lifeguards and bathrooms.
People can use the county park and its services without paying to park there, and county residents can park there for far less than the advertised rate.
For regular beach-goers and, I would think, most families with children, a Charleston County parks Gold Pass is a great option. For $80 — $65 for those age 60 or older and $95 for non-residents — that covers parking and park entrance fees for a year, for up to 15 people per vehicle.
A Gold Pass includes festival admissions, too, and comes with discounts on things such as equipment rentals.
So, for those who live here, it doesn't have to cost money to park at the beach. And regular visitors to the Isle of Palms who want amenities and lifeguards should consider buying a Gold Pass.
(843) 483-1482