Ultrasound good, drugs bad for knee injury

[Celebration]

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-07-14T000518Z_01_PAR400274_RTRUKOC_0_US-ULTRASOUND-GOOD-DRUGS-BAD-KNEE-INJURY.xml&archived=False

Treatment with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound can hasten the healing of torn ligaments in the knee, while the use of NSAID drugs, such as Celebrex (celecoxib) and Motrin (ibuprofen), has the opposite effect, findings from an animal study suggest.

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Dr. Stuart J. Warden, from Indiana University in Indianapolis, and colleagues assessed healing in 60 adult rats with experimentally induced injuries to ligaments in both knees. The animals were treated with Celebrex in a carrier solution or with the carrier alone. In each animal, one knee was treated with active ultrasound, while the other received ultrasound without the equipment actually being on.

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Active ultrasound "accelerated ligament healing," Warden told Reuters Health, while "celecoxib did the opposite. Knees treated with these modalities reached the same level of healing, it just took longer when celecoxib was given."

When both Celebrex and active ultrasound were given, the effects canceled each other out. The end result was that these knees healed about as fast as those exposed to inactive ultrasound and vehicle solution.

As to how NSAIDs impair ligament healing, Warden said that it is thought to relate to a reduction in the formation of collagen, the protein responsible for the strength of ligaments.

[CountAllVotes]

1. thanks for posting this information

I've got two very bad knees and a possible meniscus tear. I tried physical therapy and it made the problem worse.

I'm finding the ibuprofen isn't doing much; aspirin is more effective.

I had one ultra-sound treatment. I can't say it helped because it was only one treatment.

[BuddhaGirl]

2. you might think about checking into proline and lysine

which are a couple of amino acids that taken together, often with higher doses of vitamin C, can help speed tissue repair.

You can find them in any health food store.