THE EFFECT OF SHOCKWAVES ON MATURE AND HEALING CORTICAL BONE

It has been proposed that high energy shockwaves could be used to crea te microfractures in cortical bone. This quality might be exploited cl inically to perform closed osteotomies and promote healing in nonunion (15). However, no study has previously documented the effect of shock waves on cortical bone ''in vivo''. We report an investigation designe d to demonstrate the effect of shockwaves on mature cortical and heali ng bone. An osteotomy was performed on the tibiae of 37 lambs; two wee ks later the operation site was exposed to shockwaves. Three weeks lat er the lambs were killed and specimens of the bone examined histologic ally and radiographically. Shockwaves had no effect on the periosteal surface of mature cortical bone, but on the endosteal surface some new trabecular bone was seen. Healing of bone was delayed by the shockwav e therapy. We conclude that there is currently little place for shockw ave treatment in clinical orthopaedics.