Abstract
A parallel prospective feasibility study was performed on 53 patients with chronic
mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy (age 44.7 ± 9.1 years). Of the 53 patients, 28 (active
group) were treated using a new electromagnetic (pulsed electromagnetic field) transduction
therapy device (Cellactor® MT1) and heel cushions. The device produces an electromagnetic field of 80 milliTesla;
a total of 8 treatments was performed within 4 weeks in an outpatient setting, without
anesthesia, immobilization, or rest. A control group of 25 patients with a similar
duration of symptoms was treated with heel cushions only. At the 12-week assessment
point, the visual analog scale scores in both groups had significantly decreased,
although the active group had significantly improved visual analog scale scores compared
with those of the controls. The Role-Maudsley scores had also significantly improved
in both the active and the control groups (p < .00001 and p = .0002, respectively). Electromagnetic transduction therapy could potentially be
a useful modality for the treatment of Achilles tendinopathy. It should be compared
with the current reference standard of extracorporeal shockwave therapy/radial soundwave
therapy with similar level I, II, and III studies.
Level of Clinical Evidence
Keywords
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Article info
Footnotes
Financial Disclosure: None reported.
Conflict of Interest: Drs Gerdesmeyer, Klueter, Harrasser, and Krath received a device from Storz Medical for the study.
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© 2017 by the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. All rights reserved.
