Abstract
Objective. To determine whether the vasodilatation effect of monochromatic infrared photo energy (MIRE) had the potential for the treatment of myofascial trigger spot (MTrS) in rabbits. Design. A randomized-controlled animal study. Subjects. Twelve adult New Zealand rabbits. Methods. For each rabbit, a MTrS (equivalent to a myofascial trigger point in humans) in one side of the biceps femoris muscle was randomly selected for MIRE treatment (experimental side), while another MTrS in the other side (control side) received a sham treatment. The intervention consisted of a daily 40 minutes treatment, three times per week for 2 weeks. The prevalence of endplate noise (EPN) loci in the MTrS was assessed before, immediately after, and one week after the completion of the 2-week treatment. Results. MIRE could suppress the prevalence of EPN in the MTrS. The degree of reduction in EPN prevalence in the MTrS between the experimental side and the control side was significantly different immediately after MIRE treatment, but not significantly different one week after MIRE treatment. Conclusion. Our study suggests that MIRE may be a useful therapeutic option for the management of the myofascial trigger point in humans.
Highlights
Monochromatic infrared photo energy (MIRE) is a type of photobiomodulation
Between-group comparison showed that the change in endplate noise (EPN) prevalence in the experimental side (−52.29 ± 71.96%) was not significantly different from that in the control side (−28.05 ± 41.01%; p = 0.4697, Table 1)
Our study revealed that the EPN prevalence in an myofascial trigger spot (MTrS) in the rabbit skeletal muscle could be significantly suppressed by the application of MIRE
Summary
MIRE has been proposed as a therapeutic modality for several clinical conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, wound healing, and pain management [1]. MPS is characterized by the presence of a myofascial trigger point (MTrP), a localized hyperirritable spot in a palpable taut band of skeletal muscle fibers [7,8,9,10]. When a certain sensitive site in the palpable taut band is squeezed or compressed by a finger, the rabbit would express as if it suffers pain or discomfort (such as screaming, kicking, or withdrawing). The expression is seldom observed when areas outside the sensitive site are compressed This hypersensitive site is defined as a myofascial trigger spot (MTrS), which is in many ways similar to the MTrP in human muscle [11, 12]
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