Anyone have any experience using the Exogen 4000 bone stimulator? I was prescribed one for my non healing tibia stress fracture (which happened as a result of a cycling crash during a half ironman 6 months ago). I cannot wait for this injury to heal as it’s been so long and I’m hoping this will do the trick. It’s costing me a fortune even with my insurance so I hope it’s worth it. Any thoughts or info on people’s experiences with it are welcome. thanks.
I used one when I had a broken rib and wanted to get back quickly.
Not having anything to go by, I have no idea whether it helped. Luckily I wasn’t dealing with bones that didn’t want to heal.
Check out ebay and other internet sites, you can buy them for a few hundred bucks, not the same brand but another type.
Good luck
If you haven’t already paid for it get a partially used one on ebay.
They have a lot of uses, and most people only use about a quater of the capacity. I got one half used for I think about $85 a while back, and yes, I think they really do help.
Yes - I had a very good experience, as have several friends of mine. I had a metatarsal fracture that was supposed to take 12 weeks; I was cleared to run at 7 weeks.
At the risk of linking to my own content (mods can delete if they like), here’s my long blog post about my experience with it from a few years back - hopefully you’ll find helpful.
http://wellimtryingtorun.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-little-bone-stim.html
My brother in law tried it last summer for his leg stress fracture but it did not make any improvement in his healing. Hopefully you have better success.
I got one off ebay after a 5th metatarsal fracture. It only had 12 uses at the time of purchase. I did return to running within a reasonable timeframe (14 miles at wk 9, 32 miles at wk 12, 50 miles at wk 14) but x-rays showed a delayed union - even when I was running without pain. In fact, if we x-rayed my foot today (2.5 years later) I’d bet the fracture would still show.
I cannot say with any confidence that the Exogen sped up the process - I just couldn’t sit there and wonder what if - and that is why I purchased the device. I do recall reading that most of the benefits are during the first three weeks post fracture.
I used the Exogen for a non-displaced talus fracture in my foot. I do believe it speed up recovery, my doctor is a big believer in the system.
They usually work with you on a financial need plan, so I wouldn’t go to ebay.
I have one, used it twice, Healed well. Is that because of the unit? Impossible to say.
However, some Bone-Up from Jarrow will help with minerals if you aren’t taking. It includes some less common like Strontium and MK-7 (Vit K2)
had one prescribed by doc for collar bone but was also seeing an world known ortho doc at Stanford for other issues that said they were ineffective. did not notice any quicker healing process.
I have used the bone stimulator a few times for different stress fractures. Similar to what has been mentioned in previous posts, I purchased them on Ebay for a reasonable amount ($150-200). It’s hard to say whether it sped up my recovery or not because I don’t know how long it would have taken without a bone stimulator! However, I was able to return to running using a very slow buildup after one of my stress fractures after 4 weeks and didn’t have problems with it. From what I’ve read, for a stress fracture it will increase healing time by about a week
Here is a review on several modes of bone stimulation: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2762251/#CIT12
They say that there is some good evidence, but like most of the pooled studies, there is too much heterogeneity to say for sure.
One big point to consider:
These notions are largely based on much higher intensity ultrasound (100 W/cm2) using the physiotherapy literature; damage to tissues has been demonstrated by the use of high intensity ultrasonography. So, if it has a power knob, keep it under 100. They mention not to exceed 30 W/cm^2. In any case, the study they cite for that damage is all about electrical stimulation (not ultrasound), so something is odd.
I got one for my slow mending broken collar bone. I wish I could tell you the thing helped. Could just as well have been the bone decided to get together at about the same time I started using it. Impossible to be certain one way or the other. I don’t think I would bother if I had to do it again.