ORTHOPEDIC MILESTONE:
Orthopedic milestone spurs clinical study on ACL rupture repair without surgery
A 40 year old active skier sustained complete ACL tear after skiing injury on 3/1/06. Physical exam revealed 3+ lachman test, and 3+ pivot shift. MRI revealed complete rupture of ACL. The patient was apprised of her diagnosis and, because of her high activity level, wanted to proceed with ACL reconstruction. This was scheduled for 4/18/06. The patient wanted to do high intensity strengthening pre-op and thus she was placed on ARPWAVE Neuro Therapy for 10 sessions. (see above).
The patient was seen for her pre-op appointment on 4/13/06 and on exam was noted to have full ROM from 0 to 155 degrees as well as negative lachman and pivot shift testing. Due to these unexpected findings, a repeat MRI was obtained which showed an intact ACL. Surgery has been cancelled and the patient continues to do ultra fit type strengthening exercises.
While we're waiting for this study to be organized, we are offering ARPWAVE Neuro Therapy treatments to patients with acute ACL tears while they are waiting for surgery. My partner just had a patient yesterday that he enrolled for 10 pre-op ARPWAVE Neuro Therapy treatments. We'll see how this goes. Again, my partners couldn't believe their eyes and really couldn't refute what they saw on these two separate cases. Because the evidence was so convincing they're very willing to recommend ARPWAVE Neuro Therapy pre-op to their ACL patients to see what happens. This will just be anecdotal evidence and we'll have to do a formal prospective study but at least we'll be collecting some data while we're waiting for all the approvals.
ACL BREAKTHROUGH
Full recovery from complete ACL rupture and Grade 2 MCL sprain in 6 weeks flat
An 18-year old running back injured his right knee while making a cut to his left and struck on the lateral joint line with a valgus type stress. Physical exam revealed a 3+ Lachman and 3+ pivot shift with 2+ valgus laxity in 30 degrees of flexion. His diagnosis was consistent with a complete ACL rupture and a grade 2 MCL sprain confirmed by MRI scan (see above).
He was placed in a knee immobilizer splint for 2 weeks. During that time he performed 100 quadriceps ISO pulses daily and was treated with ARPWAVE Neuro Therapy set at 500 pps and 20/20 duty cycle and electrodes placed over the quadriceps once every two days. The power was set to the highest tolerable level.
At 2 weeks post injury, the athlete did extreme ISO holds in front lunge position with ARPWAVE Neuro Therapy quad placement at level 10 for 5 minutes on each leg. If the athlete was not able to complete the required time, he stopped and rested for 1 minute and resumed until the total work time equalled 5 minutes. He performed this 2 days on and 1 day off for 3 weeks.
He then performed sprinting exercises for the following week and was cleared to return to play 6 weeks post injury. His Lachman, pivot shift, and valgus stress test were all negative at that time. The athlete competed in the following 5 games without any giving way episodes or pain in the affected knee. In his first game back after injury, he rushed for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns and was awarded the team's game ball.
A repeat MRI scan was taken 3 months after the injury to document the status of the ACL. The ACL appeared reconstituted with complete loss of the posterior bow and intrasubstance gapping which had been present at the initial MRI. The patient's clinical exam was also remarkable for a stable knee with continued negative Lachman, pivot shift, and valgus stress test. Because of the player's clinical result, surgery has not been required.
