Effect of exercise and massage therapy on injured muscular structure and C-reactive protein expression

Abstract

The treatment and rehabilitation after acute skeletal muscle injuries remain major challenges of sports medicine practice and further studies could provide more information for effective treatment of this pathological condition. In this study, adult rats were divided into four groups namely natural healing (control), exercise and massage, massage only and exercise only and received acute skeletal contusion to the right tibialis anterior, followed by corresponding rehabilitation methods. The injured muscular tissues and blood samples were collected pre-injury and post-injury on day 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 and 15. The exercise and massage group showed the fastest recovery reflected by muscular histological structure and C-reactive protein levels, followed by the other three groups. C-reactive protein decrease in exercise and massage, massage only or exercise only groups was significantly different comparing to control group (p<0.05). Combined treatment of exercise and massage therapy showed the best effect in inflammation suppression, skeletal muscle regeneration, control of skeletal muscle fibrosis and muscular tissue re-construction. The skeletal muscular structure and C-reactive protein level could reflect the recovery process after skeletal muscles injury with high sensitivity in groups with the four different rehabilitation methods.