# EXERCISE & ELECTRICAL STIMULATION IN LIGAMENT INJURIES

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 1989 · $79,260

## Abstract

This study is intended to evaluate the effects of rehabilitation
(exercise) and electrical stimulation on ligament strength and
tightness after injury.  Ligament injuries are extremely common
in the practice of sports medicine and their treatment is to a
large degree, empirical.  Documentation of the effectiveness of
treatment regimens at increasing ligament strength and tightness
after injury is very desirable.

The literature documents that immobilization has an adverse
effect and mobilization a beneficial effect on uninjured ligaments
and on the healing of injured ligaments.  There is little data on
the effectiveness of exercise, over and above mobilization ad
libitum, in the healing of ligament injuries.  In addition, it is felt
that mobilization may have its beneficial effect through
stimulation of the cellular elements by the production of stress
generated electrical potentials (streaming potentials), and it may
be possible to simulate such potentials artificially.

The investigators propose to evaluate the effectiveness of
exercise on a well established rat medial collateral ligament
injury model.  Rats with MCL injury will be exercised by being
forced to swim on a daily basis.  The degree of exercise which
produces the most beneficial effects on tensile strength and MCL
laxity will be documented.  A similar evaluation of a model with
an unstable knee (not a simple MCL injury) will be evaluated to
see whether exercise is also beneficial in this more severe injury.
The unstable knee model will also be treated with immobilization
and electrical stimulation in order to determine whether this
combination can produce ligament strength without the increased
laxity seen with mobilization.

The same rat model will be used to evaluate electrical stimulation
and exercise to determine whether they produce increased
collagen synthesis and collagen or affect collagen alignment at
the injury site.  This is in order to determine the mechanism by

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3159510
- **Project number:** 5R01AR039465-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** D3LHU66KBLD5
- **Principal Investigator:** LAURENCE E DAHNERS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $79,260
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1988-07-01 → 1991-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3159510

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3159510, EXERCISE & ELECTRICAL STIMULATION IN LIGAMENT INJURIES (5R01AR039465-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3159510. Licensed CC0.

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