Effect of pulsed short wave diathermy on skeletal muscle injury in rabbits.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether short wave diathermy (SWD) would enhance healing of a skeletal muscle injury. Thirty-two rabbits were divided into the following four groups: Experimental Group 1 (n = 8), which was given SWD twice daily for 8 consecutive days; Control Group 1 (n = 8), which was followed for 8 days but not given treatment; Experimental Group 2 (n = 8), which was given SWD twice daily for 16 consecutive days; and Control Group 2 (n = 8), which was followed for 16 days but not given treatment. The muscle injury was induced by giving all 32 rabbits three local injections of a myotoxic drug into the right gastrocnemius muscle. After the 8 or 16 days, all muscles were removed, then embedded in paraffin or frozen, sectioned, stained with adenosine triphosphatase or hematoxylin and eosin and examined with a light microscope. No statistically significant differences in the degree of muscle healing were found between the animals in Experimental Group 1 and Control Group 1 and those in Experimental Group 2 and Control Group 2. A trend toward faster resolution of the muscle injury was observed among those rabbits in Experimental Group 2 as compared with those rabbits in Control Group 2. Further study is required to determine whether SWD can be more effective for enhancing recovery from skeletal muscle injury.