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Ultrasonic Sound Therapy for Bone Healing

Ultrasound therapy has often been used for deep tissue healing, but there are questions as to whether or not it can be used for bone healing as well. Some research confirms that it can in fact aid in healing certain types of bone fractures.

  1. Ultrasound Therapy

    • Ultrasound is a therapy that uses ultrasonic waves of a high frequency to penetrate deeply into the skin and underlying tissue. Physicians will apply a gel on your skin to both protect it and promote deeper penetration of the sound waves. The assumption regarding its therapeutic properties is that it increases blood flow in the region in which the physician conducts the ultrasound therapy. Moreover, it helps to promote collagen growth, a key component of ligament and tendon tissue, which helps to align and connect bones.

    Ultrasound Therapy and Bone Healings

    • A research study conducted in 2003 by J. Schortinghuis of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Norway indicates that ultrasound therapy is particularly beneficial in reducing the inflammation that complicates bone healing in the early stages of the injury. Specifically, the research confirms the above assumptions, nothing that ultrasound therapy increases the flow of "mast cells," which reduce inflammation.

      Additionally, the research study notes that ultrasound can actually assist in the bone-calcifying process, or the fusing of the fractured bone back together. Ultrasound can stimulate the formation of the callus, which stabilizes bone fragments and begins to fuse them together. It can also help with the concentration of calcium within cells at the site of the fractured bone. Finally, the research confirms that ultrasound stimulates intramembranous ossification, which is commonly known as bone tissue formation. Intramembranous ossification is particularly effective at healing radial fractures.

    Application of the Therapy

    • Ultrasound therapy proceeds with the use of a small metal device that emits ultrasonic waves. The physician will gently move this device over the region of the fracture for about three to five minutes. A physical therapist will most likely employ this treatment one to two times a day, increasing the frequency for more severe injuries and less frequently for fractures that result from chronic use. Since the bone is deeper within the tissue, the physical therapist will use a lower-frequency ultrasonic wave for deeper penetration.

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