1999 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Electrical Stimulation for Preventing Disuse Changes of Musculoskeletal System ; Role of Various Physical Modalities.
| Project/Area Number |
09671473
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
Orthopaedic surgery
|
|---|
| Research Institution | THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
AKAI Masami Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Assistant Professor, 医学部・附属病院, 講師 (80143452)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SHIRASAKI Yoshio Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Senior Researcher, 機械技術研究所, 主任研究官
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
1997 – 1999
|
| Keywords | joint contracture / musculoskeletal system / disuse change / physical regulation / electrical stimulation / biomechanical analysis |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Physical inactivity causes a reduction m functional ability ("disuse changes") of musculoskeletal system. If there is a supplement to substitute decreased mechanical stress with other biophysical modalities, it could be a great help for the patient under bed rest or immobilization to prevent disuse changes. Under this hypothesis we have performed a series of experiments in order to find wether stimulation of physical modality (i.e. electricity or low-1evel laser) could decrease the amount of joint contracture made by immobilization in animal model or not. Recent success of electrical enhancement for bone healing expands its application to other tissues than bone, and to other aspects than repair process.
Immobilization-induced changes of bone and cartilage as well as soft tissues in the dissected knee joint were assessed and compared between the groups. The specimen were examined mainly using biomechanical analysis for viscoelastic properties. Other examinations with bone densitometry or histomorphometry were also used. The results were promising with several statistically significant differences between the experiment specimen and the controls. However the tissue responses to these stimulation varied widely and it was hard to identify an optimal condition for each target tissue, Further accumulation of data on tissue responses caused by immobilization and by physical modalities will be needed.
Apart from these animal experiments, a meta-analysis on electrical stimulation in controlled clinical trials was also performed to find supportive clinical evidence.
|
