Abstract
Massage is a widely accepted manual therapy used to modulate the inflammatory response of muscle and restore function, but prolonged compression of muscle potentially causes overt injury and damage to muscle fibers. Therefore, a balance exists between the positive effects of massage and the induction of mechanical damage and injury. In addition, skeletal muscle of aged individuals displays increased stiffness, and therefore, the response to massage is likely different compared with young. We hypothesized that the aged skeletal muscle exhibits increased sarcolemmal permeability when subjected to massage compared with young skeletal muscle. Male Brown Norway/F344 rats, 10 and 30 months of age, were each divided into control, non‐massaged (n = 8) and massaged (n = 8) groups. The right gastrocnemius muscle received one bout of cyclic compressive loading for 30 min at 4.5 N as a massage‐mimetic. Muscles were dissected and frozen 24 h after massage. Alterations in sarcolemma permeability were quantified by measuring the level of intracellular IgG within the muscle fibers. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine IgG inside fibers and Pax7+ cell number as an indicator of stem cell abundance. Average IgG intensity was not different between control and massaged animals at either age. However, a significant shift to the right of the density histogram indicated that massaged animals had more fibers with higher IgG intensity than control at 10 months. In addition, Pax7+ cell number was significantly elevated in massaged muscles compared with control at both ages. One bout of massage did not induce overt muscle injury, but facilitated membrane permeability, which was associated with an increase in satellite cell number. Data suggest that the load applied here, which was previously shown to induce immunomodulatory changes, does not induce overt muscle injury in young and old muscles but may result in muscle remodeling. Funded by NIH grant AG042699 and AT009268.
Highlights
Massage is a manual therapy widely used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, and is defined as the manipulation of body tissues with rhythmic pressure and stroking for the promotion of health and well-being. (Galloway and Watt 2004) Clinicians use massage most frequently postexercise to enhance recovery and aid in muscle function (Tiidus 1997; Best et al 2008; Crawford et al 2014)
Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society
The mean membrane permeability as measured by Immunoglobulin G (IgG) infiltration into the muscle fibers was not altered due to massage (P = 0.227) or age (P = 0.377) and no significant interaction was observed between age and massage (P = 0.459) (Fig. 1), indicating that independent of the age of the animal massage did not induce damage to the muscle fibers at the load used in this study
Summary
Massage is a manual therapy widely used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, and is defined as the manipulation of body tissues with rhythmic pressure and stroking for the promotion of health and well-being. (Galloway and Watt 2004) Clinicians use massage most frequently postexercise to enhance recovery and aid in muscle function (Tiidus 1997; Best et al 2008; Crawford et al 2014). To determine the mechanisms underlying the physiological effects of massage on muscle tissue, there has been an increased reliance on the use of animal models where tuneable loads and appropriate controls can be more used. Previous studies using a rabbit model provide evidence that massage can increase peak torque and improve function of muscle when applied postexercise (Butterfield et al 2008). Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.
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