When Greg Thompson lies awake at 3 a.m., his legs throb with the familiar pain that’s shadowed him since Afghanistan. The 42-year-old veteran has tried nearly every treatment option available for his chronic leg injuries, developed during his three tours with the Canadian Forces. But now, the therapy that finally brought him relief—shockwave therapy—has been deemed “experimental” by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), leaving thousands of veterans scrambling.
“It’s the only thing that’s worked,” Thompson tells me as we sit in his Edmonton living room. The walls display photos from his military career alongside his children’s artwork. “Without it, I’m back to daily pain medications that fog my mind and keep me from being present with my family.”
Thompson isn’t alone. An estimated 4,000 veterans currently using shockwave therapy for injuries ranging from plantar fasciitis to chronic shoulder conditions now face uncertainty after VAC’s recent decision to severely restrict coverage of the treatment.
Shockwave therapy uses acoustic pressure waves to stimulate healing in damaged tissue. The non-invasive procedure has been used in Canada for over two decades and is covered by many provincial health plans and private insurers. But on March 15, VAC announced it would only cover the treatment for two specific conditions—calcific tendinitis and plantar fasciitis—and only after other treatments have failed.
The decision has created what Susan Markey, clinical director at Veterans Health Services in Calgary, calls “a perfect storm of bureaucratic failure.”
“These aren’t experimental treatments,” Markey explains, showing me the clinical setup where veterans receive care. “The scientific literature supporting shockwave therapy for various musculoskeletal conditions is robust. Health Canada approved these devices years ago.”
Indeed, a 2021 systematic review published in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine found moderate to strong evidence supporting shockwave therapy for numerous conditions common among veterans, including rotator cuff injuries and patellar tendinopathy. The Canadian Physiotherapy Association has also voiced support for the treatment’s effectiveness.
When I contacted Veterans Affairs Canada about the decision, spokesperson Michel Doiron emphasized that the department follows an “evidence-based approach” to determining coverage. “We continuously review our policies to ensure veterans receive the highest standard of care,” Doiron wrote in an emailed statement. But veterans’ advocates question this reasoning.
“This feels more like a cost-cutting measure than an evidence-based decision,” says Brian McKenna, director of Veterans Alliance Canada, an advocacy group that has collected over 1,200 signatures on a petition calling for the policy reversal. “If it works for these veterans—many who’ve tried everything else—why take it away?”
For many veterans, the decision represents something deeper than just a policy change. Army veteran Sarah Lacroix, who served in Bosnia and now lives with chronic hip and back pain, sees it as another broken promise.
“When we signed up to serve, we were promised care for life,” Lacroix says, her voice cracking slightly as we speak at a veterans’ support meeting in north Edmonton. “Now we’re being told our pain doesn’t matter, or that we need to try more pills first. It’s demoralizing.”
The impact extends beyond physical health. Dr. Rajan Gupta, a pain specialist who treats veterans at Edmonton’s Military Transition Health Clinic, warns about the broader implications.
“Many of these veterans are already struggling with mental health challenges,” Dr. Gupta explains. “When we remove effective pain management options, we risk exacerbating depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation. Pain and mental health are intricately connected.”
Statistics Canada data shows that veterans are already at elevated risk for chronic pain and mental health conditions, with 41% reporting chronic pain compared to 27% of the general population.
The frustration among veterans is compounded by what they see as a disconnect between VAC’s stated commitment to evidence-based care and this recent decision. The Canadian Medical Association Journal published a study in 2019 indicating that shockwave therapy shows particular promise for patients who haven’t responded to conventional treatments—precisely the situation many veterans find themselves in.
For providers like Healthpointe Medical Centre, which treats hundreds of veterans in Alberta, the decision creates both medical and business challenges. Dr. Amol Deshpande, medical director at Healthpointe, estimates that veteran treatments account for approximately 15% of their shockwave therapy cases.
“We’re caught in the middle,” Dr. Deshpande says. “We know the treatment works for these patients, but now we’re faced with either turning them away or asking them to pay out-of-pocket for care they were previously entitled to.”
Some clinics are continuing to provide the therapy at reduced rates while the policy is being challenged, but this solution isn’t sustainable long-term.
Veterans’ advocacy groups have mobilized quickly. The Royal Canadian Legion has written to Minister of Veterans Affairs Ginette Petitpas Taylor requesting an immediate review of the decision, while smaller grassroots organizations are collecting personal impact statements from affected veterans.
For Greg Thompson, the issue transcends politics. As evening settles over his Edmonton home and his children’s homework sits on the kitchen table, he reflects on what’s at stake.
“I just want to be able to coach my kid’s soccer team without being in agony the next day,” he says, absently rubbing his leg. “Is that really too much to ask after what we’ve given for this country?”
As veterans await a response from VAC, many are left wondering if their service-related sacrifices are truly valued beyond ceremonial recognition. The decision on shockwave therapy may seem technical in nature, but for thousands of veterans, it represents something far more fundamental: a promise of care that appears increasingly conditional.
