ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is a non-thermal and non-invasive mechanical stimulation, which has achieved certain curative efficacy on bone and cartilage defects. OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyze the effects and mechanisms of LIPUS in bone and cartilage regeneration process, and to review the related cellular signals and tissue regeneration mechanism involved in the current achievement of basic research and clinical application, thus providing theoretical basis for clinics. METHODS: The first author retrieved Cochrane Library, PubMed, CBM, CNKI and WanFang databases using compute for the articles addressing LIPUS promoting bone and cartilage regeneration published from January 1990 to February 2017. The keywords were "LIPUS, calcium, integrin, nitric, oxide, prostaglandin, BMP" in English and Chinese, respectively. The articles published in authoritative magazines or recently published were preferred, and finally 80 articles were selected for result analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The basic research concerning LIPUS involves cellular mechanics and tissue engineering. Especially with the support of molecular biology, there has been a major breakthrough in promoting bone and cartilage regeneration. LIPUS can stimulate cells and tissues to produce mechanical signals by mechanical wave, lead to changes in cytokines in the signaling pathways, further accelerate blood supply and metabolism, and finally promote the regeneration of bone and cartilage. Therefore, LIPUS is an effective treatment method.