Study finds ultrasound doesn't cause speedy recovery of fractured bones
Ultrasound is used for several medical purposes such as deep tissue heating therapy, imaging (particularly for pregnancies), and healing of fractures. It's widely believed that ultrasound helps boost the healing process of fractures with fairly good success. Contrary to that, however, bone fractures do not heal at a faster pace with the help of ultrasound.
According to Very Well, ultrasound has some healing effects that help alter fracture areas in which bones unite. Ultrasound effects range from small temperature changes to increased gene expression. But a randomized trial shows that the procedure is ineffective for hastening bone fracture treatment.
Canadian researchers recruited 501 patients with fractures on their Tibia - the larger of the two lower leg bones. After a standard care to repair the fractures has been applied, the patients were randomly assigned to either a low-intensity pulsed ultrasound or to a sham treatment, The New York Times reports.
There were no differences spotted between the placebo groups, particularly in terms of the haste in which treatment took place for bones, as seen on x-ray. In fact, both placebo groups didn't even pose differences in terms of the time needed to return to work without limitations, among which include avoiding the application of full weight on the fractured leg, and the provision a resume of pre-injury levels of leisure or the household activities. Moreover, no differences were seen in infections or unplanned secondary operations.
According to the study's lead author and anesthesiology professor at the McMaster University of Hamilton Jason W. Busse, there doesn't appear any evidence for ultrasound in the management of the patients' Tibia fractures. He said that he hopes for his study to encourage more innovations to explore on the effectiveness of medical devices, regardless if many of them have been in the market for 20 years.
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