Intrasound therapy in tendon healing: is intensity a factor?

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Tendon injuries are common, impacting mobility and requiring effective therapeutic interventions.
• Intrasound therapy (ITR) is an emerging modality for tissue healing, but its optimal parameters require elucidation.
• Understanding the effects of intensity and frequency is crucial for maximizing therapeutic outcomes in tendon repair.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of low- and high-intensity intrasound therapy (LITR and HITR) on tendon healing.
• To compare the effects of once-daily versus twice-daily treatment frequencies.
• To assess changes in tenocyte morphology, proliferation, and oxidative stress markers.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-five male rats with induced crush tendon injuries were randomized into control and ITR groups.
• Treatment groups received LITR or HITR once or twice daily for 14 days post-injury.
• Tendons were analyzed for histology (tenocyte/tenoblast populations) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels at 15 and 31 days post-injury.

Main Results:

• Twice-daily ITR (both low and high intensity) significantly increased tenocyte proliferation compared to once-daily treatments.
• Higher tenoblast percentages were observed in twice-daily treated groups during the proliferative healing phase.
• All ITR protocols showed a marginal reduction in MDA levels, indicating a slight decrease in oxidative stress.

Conclusions:

• Treatment frequency is a more critical factor than intensity in intrasound therapy for tendon healing.
• Twice-daily application of ITR promotes more robust cellular responses in healing tendons.
• ITR demonstrates potential as a therapeutic modality for enhancing tendon repair, with frequency being a key parameter to optimize.