Promotion of Medial Collateral Ligament Healing Using a High-Voltage Electrical Field

Purpose. To assess the biomechanical and histological effects of a high-voltage electrical field on ligament healing. Methods. 54 male Wistar rats were used. The medial collateral ligaments (MCLs) of 6 rats were measured for normal biomechanical failure load and stiffness. MCLs of the remaining 48 r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of orthopaedic surgery (Hong Kong) Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 22 - 26
Main Authors Ito, MM, Murase, K, Tanaka, S, Matsushita, T
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.04.2007
Sage Publications Ltd
SAGE Publishing
Subjects
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Blood vessels
Collagen Type I - metabolism
Electric Stimulation Therapy
Granulation Tissue - pathology
Hindlimb - injuries
Immunohistochemistry
Industrial research
Ligaments, Articular - injuries
Load
Male
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Rodents
Sports injuries
Standard deviation
Wound Healing
electric stimulation
wound healing
medial collateral ligament, knee
biomechanics
histology
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Purpose. To assess the biomechanical and histological effects of a high-voltage electrical field on ligament healing. Methods. 54 male Wistar rats were used. The medial collateral ligaments (MCLs) of 6 rats were measured for normal biomechanical failure load and stiffness. MCLs of the remaining 48 rats were transected and randomly assigned; half were subjected to a high-voltage electrical field for 8 hours a day (experimental group), and the other half were kept under normal conditions (control group). Eight rats from each group were killed 2, 4, and 6 weeks after the transection and their MCLs were tested biomechanically and histologically. Results. Failure load and stiffness of the MCLs in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group 2 weeks after transection, but not thereafter. At week 2, the granulation tissue completely occupied the space between the cut ends of the MCL in the experimental group, whereas some gaps remained in the control group. Conclusion. A high-voltage electrical field appear to accelerate ligament healing in the initial 2 weeks. Earlier initial healing may allow earlier start of the rehabilitation.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1022-5536
2309-4990
2309-4990
DOI:10.1177/230949900701500106