Ultrasound 'can speed up broken bone healing time'

Pulses of high-frequency sound can significantly speed up the healing of broken bones, a study has found.

Researchers tested the therapy on patients with fractured shin bones, or tibias, which had not properly healed after more than four months.

Half the 100 participants were treated with an ultrasound probe and half with a "sham" device. Over a period of 16 weeks, faster healing in patients receiving the "real" treatment resulted in 34 per cent greater bone density at the injury site.

The treatment, called LIPUS, (low-intensity pulsed ultrasound) is delivered by a small emitter linked to a handheld controller. Therapy sessions lasting 20 minutes were conducted every day throughout the study period.

The research was conducted by a team of German scientists backed by global medical devices manufacturer Smith and Nephew.

Dr John Block, a US consultant for the company based in San Francisco, said: "These findings demonstrate significantly greater progress toward bone healing after LIPUS treatment compared to no LIPUS treatment in subjects with established delayed unions of the tibia. This should assist in establishing this non-invasive modality as a viable, effective treatment option for patients suffering these injuries."

The age of patients taking part in the study ranged from 14 to 70.

Delayed "union" - the knitting together of broken bones - occurs in around 4.4 per cent of tibial fractures. Sometimes the bones do not mend at all, resulting in functional impairment and loss of quality of life.

Currently "non-unions" are tackled with costly procedures which involve grafting on extra pieces of bone and the use of growth-promoting chemicals. Ultrasound has been shown to accelerate healing by boosting the activity of osteoblasts, the cells that synthesise bone.