Low-Intensity Vibration as a Treatment for Traumatic Muscle Injury

Abstract

Traumatic musculoskeletal injuries are among the most common injuries experienced during military combat. Poor healing of traumatic muscle injuries is associated with impaired muscle function, joint stiffness and loss of mobility. Our long-term goal is to develop a device and treatment protocol that provide a safe, inexpensive, and easy to apply treatment that will help to restore normal muscle and joint function to injured military personnel. In this report, we provide preliminary data indicating a trend towards improved healing with LIV. We observed a trend towards a larger fiber area and increased angiogenesis in muscles from LIV-treated mice vs. controls. We have initiated additional experiments to follow up on these findings. Furthermore, initial in vitro studies in macrophages (Mp) demonstrated that these cells are responsive to the LIV signals and that LIV downregulates the expression of pro-inflammatory markers and upregulates the expression of pro-healing markers in Mp. Findings from continued work on this project will provide insight into the potential for LIV as a non-invasive and simple treatment for improving muscle healing, thereby reducing joint stiffness and increasing mobility of polytrauma patients.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2015
Accession Number
AD1004944

Entities

People

  • Eileen Weinheimer-haus
  • Stefan Judex
  • Timothy T Koh

Organizations

  • University of Illinois at Chicago

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Angiogenesis
  • Bone Marrow
  • Cells
  • Combat Readiness
  • Growth Factors
  • Intensity
  • Macrophages
  • Manufacturing
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Mobility
  • Muscles
  • Stiffness
  • Students
  • Vibration
  • Wounds And Injuries

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Immunology and Pathology
  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.