Do Capacitively Coupled Electric Fields Accelerate Tibial Stress Fracture Healing?: 878

Abstract : An average of three months rest is generally recommended for resolution of tibial stress fractures. Such an extended absence from athletic or military training reduces the ability to perform optimally and the likelihood of successful return to activity upon recovery. Electric field stimulation has been shown to accelerate bone healing. While there is reason to believe that this effect will extend to the healing of stress fractures, no rigorous investigations of this application have been performed. We are collecting data in order to compare recovery times from tibial stress fracture in male and female subjects treated with either active or placebo-control electric field stimulation. There is an associated need to establish a cost effective, reliable method of diagnostic imaging for tibial stress fractures. Four forms of diagnostic imaging (radiographs, bone scan, MRI and CT) are performed on each subject. The films will be evaluated according to the ability of each to identify tibial stress fractures and predict time to healing. Establishment of a stress fracture severity grading system for each imaging technique will facilitate predictions of recovery times with and without electric field stimulation according to degree of injury. We have collected data from seven subjects in Year 1, however, due to the nature of the study design, we are unable to report findings until the conclusion of the investigation when the devices will be unblinded. Further, to maximize intra-evaluator reliability, reading and grading of all films should occur simultaneously, thus no imaging evaluation will occur until data collection is complete.