A Pilot Study: The Therapeutic Effect of Ultrasound Following Partial Rupture of Achilles Tendons in Male Rats

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether ultrasound administered in clinical dosage has a therapeutic effect on the healing of partially ruptured Achilles tendons. The subjects were 11 young male Marland rats which were divided into two main groups. One group was treated for 2 weeks, the other for 3. Each group consisted of experimental and control animals, the control animals being mocksonated only. A day after the final treatment the tensile strength of the Achilles tendon of all the rats was assessed. In addition, a light microscope and an electron microscope analysis of Achilles tendon tissue from rats on the 3 week treatment program was done. The statistical analysis of the data indicated a significant difference only between the experimental and control animals in the group sonated for 3 weeks. Electron microscope analysis showed ultrastructural changes in the tissue of the experimental animal consonant with those changes that would be found in a more advanced stage of the healing process. Sciences. Touro College, Huntington, NY. the effect of pulsed galvanic currents on the heal-$ Registered Physical Therapist.

Ultrasound stimulation of types I and III collagen expression of tendon cell and upregulation of transforming growth factor β

“…Ultrasound has been demonstrated to promote tendon repairing process in human and different animal models including rabbit and rat. [7][8][9]22,24 Some of these studies were associated with the findings of increased collagen synthesis. All these studies were usually done by multiple ultrasound treatments and analyzed several days later.…”

“…7 The breaking strength of rat Achilles tendons following partial rupture also increased after ultrasound treatment. 8,9 One of the proposed mechanisms for ultrasound accelerating the rate of tissue healing was by increasing collagen and general protein synthesis in fibroblasts. 10 However, the effect and molecular mechanism of ultrasound on collagen synthesis of tendon cell have yet to be investigated.…”

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“…[77] Some studies have demonstrated the effects of cavitation and microstreaming in vitro experiment such as stimulation of fibroblast repair and collagen synthesis, [14][15][16]80] regeneration of tissue, [15] and bone healing. [35] Various mechanisms of action of US in modulating inflamed tissues including increasing the fibrinolysis rate, [17,81] stimulating macrophage-derived fibroblast mitogenic factors, [70] escalating fibroblast recruitment, [69] accelerating angiogenesis, [71] increasing matrix synthesis, [80] synthesizing more dense collagen fibrils, [82] and enhancing tissue tensile strength. [16,83,84] These interactions can interpret the usefulness of US in promoting and accelerating recovery of wound tissue.…”

Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Accelerates Healing in Rat Calcaneus Tendon Injuries

“…The 1-MHz frequency and the ultrasound apparatus were chosen because they are the most frequently used in the clinic. 3,10,11,13,17,24 The ultrasound application was performed once a day for 28 consecutive days, starting on the first postoperative day, for a 5-minute period. The dose used was 2 W of irradiation intensity applied to an effective radiation area (ERA) head of 3.8 cm 2 , in a pulsed mode with 16-Hz frequency, and 20% sonication periods.…”