Ultrasound ‘accelerates healing of fractures’

WASHINGTON - A new report has suggested that ultrasound can speed up the healing of fractures.

A randomized controlled trial found that the use of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) in patients with tibial fractures, which showed inadequate progress toward healing, resulted in 34 pc greater bone mineral density (BMD) in the fracture area after 16 weeks than use of a sham device.

Jon E. Block, Ph.D. worked with a team of researchers from University Hospital Marburg and the University of Ulm, Germany, to test LIPUS in 51 patients and 50 controls. Smith and Nephew, a manufacturer of ultrasound devices, supported their research.

Block, a consultant for the sponsor, said, “These findings demonstrate significantly greater progress toward bone healing after LIPUS treatment compared to no LIPUS treatment in subjects with established delayed unions of the tibia. This should assist in establishing this non-invasive modality as a viable, effective treatment option for patients suffering these injuries”.

The LIPUS device comprises a handheld control unit attached by wire to a small ultrasound emitter, which is placed over the fracture site for 20 minutes per day. Patients in this study had all sustained a tibial shaft fracture that subsequently showed inadequate progress toward healing and were randomized to receive either a functional or non-functional device. The estimated increase in BMD among subjects randomized to active LIPUS treatment was 34 pc larger.

According to Block, “This is the first study to offer Level-I evidence of this effect in a single fracture type”.

The trial has bee reported in the open access journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. (ANI)