Scientific Basis of Electro-Stimulation

Abstract

Any external electrical intervention in living biological tissue interrupts its normal sequence of bioelectric events and associated microenvironment. Whether external electrical stimulation can be used to help tissue in recovering and restoring its normal activities from fractured or diseased states such as nonunion, delayed union, congenital pseudar-throsis or osteoporosis, depends upon several factors. These include thorough knowledge of the structure and properties of the tissue under consideration, both with and without electrical stimulation. In this article the electrical methods used in clinical applications and investigations for electro-osteogenesis are summarized. This is followed by a brief account of reported results on the electric and the electromechanical properties of bone. The role of the electrical characteristics of bone in stimulating bone growth and remodeling using electricity are described. Although the clinical applications of electrical stimulation are of value in the treatment of nonunion and several other bony defects, the fundamental processes that occur remain obscure.