The authors hypothesised that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound accelerates healing of bone-to-tendon junction repair by promoting osteogenesis and tissue remodeling at the healing junction. Standard partial patellectomy was conducted in forty-eight 18-week-old rabbits and daily ultrasound was delivered 3 days after surgery onto the patellar tendon–patella healing junction and continuously up to weeks 2, 4, 8, and 16 postoperatively, when the patella–patellar tendon complexes were harvested for evaluations. The results showed that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound was able to accelerate bone-to-tendon junction repair may help establish treatment efficacy for accelerating bone-to-tendon junction repair and facilitating earlier rehabilitation.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2006, 34: 1287-1296