Investigation of the efficiency of pulsed electromagnetic field treatment and stretching exercise in experimental skeletal muscle injury model.

OBJECTIVE

Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) and stretching exercises are safe and noninvasive methods that could have a therapeutic effect on tissue healing. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of these methods in treatment of muscle injury (INJ).

METHOD: Rats were divided into 5 groups (Control, INJ, INJ + Exercise, INJ + PEMF, INJ + Exercise + PEMF). At the end of the experiment, genetic, histopathological, and immunohistochemical evaluations were made in the muscle tissue.

RESULTS

Mononuclear cell infiltration, muscle degeneration, atrophy, and necrosis were found to be higher in the INJ group than in all groups (p < 0.001). On the 7th day, fibroblast growth factor (FGF) was found to be higher in the INJ group compared to both the control and the INJ + Exercise group (p < 0.05). On the 14th day, Vascular endothelial growth factor values were found to be higher in the injury group than the other groups except for the PEMF group (p < 0.05), and FGF values were higher in the injury group compared to all groups (p < 0.001). The expressions of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) on the 7th and 14th days showed a significant increase in the INJ group compared to the other groups (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

In this study, it has been shown that PEMF and stretching exercise is effective in the treatment of muscle injuries as they balance the inflammatory process in the muscle, have a positive effect on muscle development, accelerate healing, prevent fibrosis development by reducing TGF-β1 signaling, and inhibit inflammatory-induced eNOS activity.