Premium
The effects of electrical stimulation and vibration therapy on the atrophic muscles of rats with spinal cord injury
Author(s) -
Zamarioli Ariane,
Butezloff Mariana,
Issa João P,
Maranho Daniel,
Okubo Rodrigo,
Falcai Mauricio,
Shimano Antonio C
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.524.5
Subject(s) - medicine , stimulation , atrophy , muscle atrophy , triceps surae muscle , spinal cord injury , functional electrical stimulation , electromyography , spinal cord , contraction (grammar) , anatomy , anesthesia , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychiatry
Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to a severe atrophy in the sublesional muscles. In this study we investigated the effects of electrical stimulation (ES) and vibration therapy (VT) on the magnitude of muscle loss in a rodent transection model of complete SCI. Young adult Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: Sham, SCI, SCI+ES and SCI+VT. Both therapies initiated 3 days after SCI and were performed 3x/week, 20min for 30 days. Triceps surae were stimulated during ES (300‐μs rectangular pulses delivered at 50 Hz with a 5‐sec on/15‐sec off duty cycle), whereas stimulation amplitude was adjusted (20 to 150 mA) to produce a contraction that could be maintained for the duration of the stimulus. Rats were submitted to VT with frequency of 60Hz and vertical displacement of 1mm. On day 33 post‐SCI, gastrocnemius were dissected and analyzed by means of mechanical tests, morphology and histology. SCI significantly reduced cross‐sectional area, weight and mechanical resistance of muscles. We also observed that SCI caused a decrease of muscle volume and an increase of conjunctive tissue. ES showed efficacy at preventing the deleterious effects of SCI on muscle, by increasing cross‐sectional area, mechanical resistance, muscle fibers and by decreasing conjunctive tissue.