The Effect of Ultrasound on Acceleration of Peripheral Nerve Injury

Background: Many people suffer from nerve injury. The time consuming nature of the treatments makes the condition worse. Therefore, finding a way to accelerate the process of nerve repair is very important.Objective: To determine the effect of ultrasound on the acceleration of crushed peripheral nerve regeneration.Methods: The experimental model included crushed rat’s sciatic nerve. 40 rats were categorized into control and test groups. We used functional and electrophysiological tests to measure the amount of nerve regeneration. We extracted SFI from rats paw print for functional test and measured CMAP wave amplitude for electrophysiological test. After testing 3 types of ultrasound radiation parameters, we selected the best parameters. Ultrasound radiation in test group had the intensity of 0.2 W/cm2 and frequency of 3 MHz. It was applied 3 days per week for 2 min each time starting 72 h after the injury. Control group just received sham expose.Results: During the treatment period, both SFI and CMAP amplitude was significantly higher in test group than in control groups (p<0.05).Conclusion: We found that ultrasound accelerates injured peripheral nerve regeneration. In addition, type of injury can be assessed according to changes in CMAP amplitude during the treatment period.