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

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 mock-sonated 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.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1988;10(2):39-46.