THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF GALVANIC CURRENT FOLLOWING RUPTURE OF THE ACHILLES TENDON IN RATS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of pulsed galvanic current stimulation on healing of ruptured achilles tendons in young male rats. The effect of current polarity on the healing of the ruptured achilles tendon was compared with healing without electrical stimulation. The independent variables, therefore, were the treatment groups having either: (1) pulsed anodal galvanic current stimulation; (2) pulsed cathodal galvanic current stimulation; or (3) no electrical stimulation. The dependent variable, tendon healing, was assessed by the tensile strength of tendons after a 14-day treatment period. Based on the reviewed studies on bone healing using electrical stimulation it was hypothesized that pulsed cathodal galvanic current stimulation would produce the best healing while the healing of ruptured achilles tendons treated with no electrical stimulation would be better than those treated with pulsed anodal galvanic current stimulation.;The data collected were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. The results indicated that daily pulsed anodal galvanic current stimulation effected the best healing while daily pulsed cathodal galvanic current stimulation produced the poorest healing. The control group was between the two treatment groups. All between-group differences were significant. The findings, with respect to tensile strength of the healed tendons, were in a direction opposite to that hypothesized. It is evident, therefore, that while electrical stimulation does indeed enhance tendon healing, the polar effects are opposite to those in bone healing.;The subjects were sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats which, after surgery were assigned randomly to one of the three groups (anodal galvanic current stimulation; cathodal galvanic current stimulation; and no electrical stimulation). Electrical stimulation was effected through implanted electrodes and by a portable electro-galvanic stimulator. After 14 days of treatment all the rats were sacrificed, the right achilles tendons dissected out and the tensile strength of the healed tendons assessed by a strain-gauge. Other factors assessed were the effect of treatment on (1) the body weight; (2) the muscles of the achilles tendon, by measuring the circumference of the right calf; and (3) how far the healed achilles tendons stretched before rupture during the tensile strength assessment.