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

Abstract
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.