External stimulation: A potential therapeutic strategy for tendon-bone healing

Shijie Fu; Yujian Lan; Guoyou Wang; Dingsu Bao; Bo Qin; Qiu Zheng; Huan Liu; Vincent Kam Wai Wong

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1150290

External stimulation: A potential therapeutic strategy for tendon-bone healing

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Mar 31:11:1150290. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1150290. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shijie Fu^{1

2

3}, Yujian Lan², Guoyou Wang², Dingsu Bao², Bo Qin², Qiu Zheng², Huan Liu², Vincent Kam Wai Wong³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
² Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China.
³ Dr. Neher's Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.

Abstract

Injuries at the tendon-bone interface are very common in the field of sports medicine, and healing at the tendon-bone interface is complex. Injuries to the tendon-bone interface can seriously affect a patient's quality of life, so it is essential to restore stability and promote healing of the tendon-bone interface. In addition to surgical treatment, the healing of tendons and bones can also be properly combined with extracorporeal stimulation therapy during the recovery process. In this review, we discuss the effects of extracorporeal shock waves (ESWs), low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), and mechanical stress on tendon-bone healing, focusing on the possible mechanisms of action of mechanical stress on tendon-bone healing in terms of transcription factors and biomolecules. The aim is to provide possible therapeutic approaches for subsequent clinical treatment.

Keywords: extracorporeal shock wave; low-intensity pulsed ultrasound; mechanical stress; mechanism of action; tendon-bone healing.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Luzhou Science and Technology Plan Project (2021-SYF-25) and Scientific Research Project of Southwest Medical University (2021ZKMS051, 2021CXYZ01).