Tissue repair - the current state of the art

by Prof Tim Watson, MCSP, PhD

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to summarise the salient issues in the field of soft tissue repair without claiming to provide a full review. In a subsequent paper, the capacity for different electrotherapy modalities to influence these processes will be considered. Some examples of the potential influence of manual and exercise therapies are included in this text.

Tissue healing consists of a complex series of cellular and tissue reactions that enable the body to achieve a functional repair of tissues that have been damaged – in most cases. There are individuals for whom this process goes astray, and those that seek help for a normally presenting repair process.

Research concerning tissue repair is published at a significant rate and there are several areas of rapid development, particularly (a) the identification of numerous growth factors that influence and control the processes and (b) the role of angiogenesis as an essential component of repair. Reference will be made to recent work in both fields. More complete and in-depth reviews can be found in references 1-9.

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