Effects of massage on satellite cells of acute contusive skeletal muscles

Objective To study the mechanism of Tuina in the treatment of skeletal muscle injury. Methods Rabbits were heavily beaten at gastrocnemius muscle to make acute contusion model and then treated respectively by early Tuina and routine Tuina. The number of satellite cells of skeletal muscles was observed. Results The number of the satellite cells continued to grow in both groups, and it began to increase significantly 3–5 days after Tuina treatment. Early Tuina treatment produces larger number of satellite cells than routine Tuina treatment. Conclusion Early Tuina treatment is helpful to the marked recovery of skeletal muscles by increasing the number of satellite cell.