Effect of different acupuncture therapy on microvascular perfusion after blunt skeletal muscle injury in rats

Objective To observe the effect of different acupuncture therapy on microvascular perfusion after blunt skeletal muscle injury in rats using laser-Doppler perfusion imaging. Methods Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group,spontaneous recovery group,calor internus acupuncture group,silver acupuncture plus heating group,and silver acupuncture not plus heating group,6 rats in each group.The left gastrocnemius muscle was blunt injured in the last 4 groups.The blunt injuries in the last 3 groups were treated with different acupuncture therapy after 15 days.Changes in microcirculation of the left gastrocnemius muscle were observed and recorded,and compared with those in the other two groups. Results A significant difference was observed in microcirculation between the 5 groups and normal control group（P＜0.05）.No significant difference was found between the calor internus acupuncture group and silver acupuncture plus heating group,while a difference was observed between the silver acupuncture not plus heating group and normal control group（P＜0.05）. Conclusion Acupuncture therapy is effective for microvascular perfusion failure after blunt skeletal muscle injury in rats.