Effects of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound for Preventing Joint Stiffness in Immobilized Knee Model in Rats

Publication date: Available online 21 March 2018
Source:Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Author(s): Nobuyuki Itaya, Yutake Yabe, Yoshihiro Hagiwara, Kenji Kanazawa, Masashi Koide, Takuya Sekiguchi, Shinichirou Yoshida, Yasuhito Sogi, Toshihisa Yano, Masahiro Tsuchiya, Yoshihumi Saijo, Eiji Itoi
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) in preventing joint stiffness. Unilateral knee joints were immobilized in two groups of rats (n = 6/period/group). Under general anesthesia, the immobilized knee joints were exposed to LIPUS for 20 min/d, 5 d/wk, using an existing LIPUS device (LIPUS group, 1.5-MHz frequency, 1.0-kHz repetition cycle, 200-µs burst width and 30-mW/cm² power output) until endpoints (2, 4 or 6 wk). In the control group, general anesthesia alone was administered in the same manner as in the other group. The variables compared between the groups included joint angles; histologic, histomorphometric and immunohistochemical analyses; quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions; and tissue elasticity. LIPUS had a preventive effect on joint stiffness, resulting in decreased adhesion, fibrosis and inflammation and hypoxic response after joint immobilization.



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