A histomorphometric study of necrotic femoral head in rabbits treated with extracorporeal shock waves.
Huan-Zhi Ma, Dong-Sheng Zhou, Dong Li and 2 others
PMID 28210032WHAT IT FOUND
In rabbits with induced femoral head necrosis, shock waves applied to the treated side increased bone formation and bone volume compared with the untreated side.
The paper reports rabbit bone histology, not human hip deformity or collapse.
Key findings
01Shock wave-treated femoral heads had higher bone volume, trabecular thickness, and trabecular number, and lower trabecular separation, than untreated femoral heads.
02Treated femoral heads showed increased osteoid surface, mineralizing surface, bone formation rate, and osteoblast surface compared with controls.
03Bone resorption parameters did not differ between treated and control femoral heads.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Only 8 rabbits were used. The outcomes were microscopic bone structure measurements, not hip deformity or load-bearing collapse. The control side was also necrotic, so the comparison does not show what would happen without induced necrosis. The study did not test human patients.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that shock waves treat osteonecrosis of the femoral head in patients. The study measured microscopic bone changes in rabbits, not human hip deformity or collapse.