Effects of a therapeutic laser on the ultrastructural morphology of repairing medial collateral ligament in a rat model

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Low energy laser therapy has been shown to enhance mechanical strength of healing medial collateral ligament (MCL) in rats. The present study investigated its effects on the ultrastructural morphology and collagen fibril profile of healing MCL in rats. Study Design/Materials and Methods: Thirty-two mature male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used. Twenty-four underwent surgical transection to their right MCLs and eight received only skin wound. Immediately after surgery, eight of the MCL transected rats were treated with a single dose of laser therapy at 63.2 J cm-2, eight were treated with a single dose of laser therapy at 31.6 J cm-2, the rest had no treatment and served as control. At 3 and 6 weeks after surgery, the MCLs were harvested and examined with electron microscopy for collagen fibril size, distribution, and alignment. Results: Significant differences (P < 0.001) were found in fibril diameters from the same anatomical site and time period among different groups. The mass-averaged diameters of the laser-treated (64.99-186.29 nm) and sham (64.74-204.34 nm) groups were larger than the control group (58.66-85.89 nm). The collagen fibrils occupied 42.55-59.78, 42.63-53.94, and 36.92-71:64% of the total cross-sectional areas in the laser-treated, control and sham groups, respectively. Mode obliquity was 0.53-0.84 among the three groups. Conclusions: Single application of low energy laser therapy increases the collagen fibril size of healing MCLs in rats. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.