ArticleJournal of biomechanics2021
Comparison between dry needling and focused ultrasound on the mechanical properties of the rat Achilles tendon: A pilot study.
Article in Journal of biomechanics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Application of Focused Ultrasound for the Treatment of Tendinopathy: An In Vivo Feasibility, Safety, and Efficacy Study.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2026Article
- Focused ultrasound as an alternative to dry needling for the treatment of tendinopathies: A murine model.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2024Article
- Dual-frequency boiling histotripsy in an ex vivo bovine tendinopathy model.The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2023Article
- High intensity focused ultrasound atomization and erosion in healthy and tendinopathic tendons.Physics in medicine and biology · 2023Article
- Automated Tissue Strain Calculations Using Harris Corner Detection.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2022Article
- Effects of focused ultrasound and dry needling on tendon mechanical properties.Journal of biomechanics · 2022Article
- Focused Ultrasound Mechanical Disruption of Ex Vivo Rat Tendon.IEEE transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
In the U.S., approximately 14 million tendon and ligament injuries are reported each year. Dry needling (DN) is a conservative treatment introduced to alleviate pain and restore function; however, it is invasive and has mixed success. Focused ultrasound (fUS) is a non-invasive technology that directs ultrasound energy into a well-defined focal volume. fUS induces thermal and/or mechanical bioeffects which can be controlled by the choice of ultrasound parameters. fUS could be an alternative to DN for treatment of tendon injuries, but the bioeffects must be established. Thus, the purpose of this pilot study was to compare the effect of DN and fUS on the mechanical properties and cell morphology of 30 ex vivo rat Achilles tendons. Tendons were randomly assigned to sham, DN, or fUS, with 10 tendons per group. Within each group, 5 tendons were evaluated mechanically, and 5 tendons were analyzed histologically. Elastic modulus in the DN (74.05 ± 15.0 MPa) group was significantly lower than sham (149.84 ± 59.1 MPa; p = 0.0094) and fUS (128.84 ± 28.3 MPa; p = 0.0453) groups. Stiffness in DN (329.05 ± 236.8 N/mm; p = 0.0034) and fUS (315.26 ± 68.9 N/mm; p = 0.0027) groups were significantly lower than sham (786.10 ± 238.7 N/mm) group. Histologically, localized necrosis was observed in 3 out of 5 tendons exposed to fUS, with surrounding tissue unharmed; no evidence of cellular injury was observed in DN or sham groups. These results suggest that fUS preserves the mechanical properties of tendon better than DN. Further studies are needed to evaluate fUS as an alternative, noninvasive treatment modality for tendon injuries.
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