The pain was merciless, knifing through his knees and numbing his muscular legs.

Focused on the moment, Calgary’s Oral O’gilvie couldn’t imagine that, only two months later, a new medical technology would rid him of the torment.

He was attempting to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics in August, and the Calgary triple-jumper had a choice: endure the tendinitis in his knees, or pass on the third and final attempt at the Canadian championships. He sat down – betrayed by his own body.

“I’d had pain before, but nothing so bright, nothing that affected my training like that,” says the 31-year-old, national champion three of the last four year. “Had I been able to train properly, yes, I think I would have had a good opportunity (to make the Games).”

Even worse than the pain was the prospect of watching his track career tumbling to a premature end. Intensive physiotherapy had failed. Surgery was a frightening option that offered no guarantees.

But there was one hope.

Last month, O’gilvie headed to the University of Calgary to begin treatments on a machine offering relief to sufferers of chronic pain. The Sonocur, a $225,000 pain-therapy machine, arrived at the U of C’s sports medicine centre in mid-September.

Used commercially for only one year in Canada, it had a reported success rate of 75 per cent to 90 per cent in the treatment of certain injuries. They include tendinitis of the knee (patellar tendinitis); heel spur (plantar fascitis); tendinitis of the shoulder; tennis or golfer’s elbow and tendinitis of the foot (achilles tendinitis).

“It’s probably the most promising single treatment for this problem that’s ever been introduced that is not surgical,” says Dr. Preston Wiley, in charge of the U of C treatment program.

The non-invasive technology is based on a technique called “extracorporeal shock wave therapy,” and is similar (though on a much lower dosage) to the lithotripter machines used to pulverize kidney stones. “The machine generates a shock wave, no different than if a bomb exploded outside,” explains Wiley.

“The wave moves things in front of it. This is an electromagnetic shock wave, which goes through a water medium (gel). Shocks basically bash the soft tissues and can penetrate up to a couple centimetres into the skin.”

The waves hit a specific spot “bang, bang, bang” a couple of times a second, says Wiley. The frequency is adjusted to the patient’s pain threshold.

The six-foot, two-inch, 185-pound O’gilvie was treated on the lowest frequency setting during his first two visits to treat his tendinitis. “I’m tender to the touch,” the athlete observed afterwards.

Patients are scheduled for three sessions, usually lasting 15 minutes. A technician applies gel to the affected area, the Sonocur head is moved into position and zeroes in on the most sensitive spot as the shock waves begin. No anesthetic is need and patients resume normal activity when it’s done.

Physicians like the Sonocur therapy (begun in Europe in 1995) because it is non-invasive, with a success rate almost equal to surgery. If therapy fails, surgery remains an option.

Therapy is open to the public, although patients do require a medical referral and must have exhausted other recommended treatments. The one painful drawback is the cost: $750 for three sessions, $250 for an additional two sessions if needed. (Research indicates anything beyond five treatments is ineffective.)

Any profit made by the university goes back into U of C research, says Wiley.

He believes work here, and at the other sites in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa will eventually show insurers and government the cost is worth funding. That $750 is cheaper than surgery, says Wiley, and patients don’t need weeks or months off work to recover.

The six sites are in partnership with Vancouver-based Sonorex Canada Inc. (www.sonorex.com) which buys the machines from Siemens AG in Germany.

O’gilvie’s close to being a believer in the Sonocur. Following his third treatment at the end of September his right knee felt perfect, he says. The left knee is much better than at the Olympic trials.

He understands the full effects won’t be known until four to six weeks after the final treatment. But he can now do “light 225-pound squats – pain free.”

Which makes him want to jump for joy.