The effect of ultrasonics and thermal treatment on wounds.

A method of local treatment of wounds to accelerate healing would be a major benefit in those patients in whom abnormal healing is expected. Earlier studies has suggested that local ultrasonic treatment of wounds would stimulate the healing process. We have evaluated the effect of local ultrasound (5 MHz) and thermal treatments on healing in a dermal wound model. Various intensities of ultrasound and heat were employed for 5 min/day (0.05 W/cm2) and 10 min/day (0.05W/cm2), with healing assessed by wound breaking strength measurements obtained 14 days after injury. Subcutaneous temperature measurements demonstrated that equal intensities of ultrasound and heat produced equivalent temperature changes in the tissues. None of the treatments employed resulted in greater wound breaking strengths than the controls, and the higher intensities of ultrasound (0.1 and 0.15 W/cm2) and heat (0.15 W/cm2) resulted in decreased wound breaking strength. Our results failed to support brief daily treatments of local ultrasound or heat as stimulants of wound healing.