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Abstract
Ultrasound is one of the most widely used electrotherapeutic modalities applied by physiotherapists. Despite this, its full therapeutic potential is still being established. This is reflected by its recent application in the treatment of bone fractures. In both animal and human trials, ultrasound has been shown to accelerate the rate of fracture repair by a factor of 1.6. These investigations used specifically modified diagnostic units which produce ultrasound at a different dosage to that produced by conventional therapeutic units. Whether a similar rate of acceleration occurs with the application of ultrasound units customarily used in physiotherapy clinical practice has not been established. This paper reviews whether this is possible. It discusses: (1) the safe application of ultrasound over bone and (2) the appropriate dosages required to produce beneficial changes during fracture repair. Overall, the paper highlights the current limitations associated with using conventional therapeutic ultrasound units with the intent of accelerating fracture repair.