Bone stimulation for fracture healing: What's all the fuss?  


Author: Galkowski Victoria, Brad Petrisor, Brian Drew, and David Dick

Affiliation: Center for Bone Healing and Research, Performance Physiotherapy, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Address for correspondence: Dr. Galkowski Victoria, Center for Bone Healing and Research, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: vmgalkow@mailservices.uwaterloo.ca
Conference/Journal: Indian J Orthop.
Date published: 2009 Apr-Jun
Other:
 Volume ID: 43   ,  Issue ID: 2   ,  Pages: 117-120   ,  Special Notes: doi:  10.4103/0019-5413.50844   ,  Word Count: 118  
    Approximately 10% of the 7.9 million annual fracture patients in the United States experience nonunion and/or delayed unions, which have a substantial economic and quality of life impact. A variety of devices are being marketed under the name of “bone growth stimulators.” This article provides an overview of electrical and electromagnetic stimulation, ultrasound, and extracorporeal shock waves. More research is needed for knowledge of appropriate device configurations, advancement in the field, and encouragement in the initiation of new trials, particularly large multicenter trials and randomized control trials that have standardized device and protocol methods.



Keywords: Electrical stimulation, electrical stimulation therapy, fracture healing, low-intensity pulsed ultrasound, pulsed electromagnetic fields



full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2762251/