Attenuation of skeletal muscle atrophy via acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, and electrical stimulation

Background: Accelerated skeletal muscle wasting is a shared trait among many pathologies and aging. Acupuncture has been used as a therapeutic intervention to control pain; however, little is known about its effects on skeletal muscle atrophy and function. The study's purpose was to compare the effects of acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, and electrical stimulation on cast-induced skeletal muscle atrophy.Methods: Forty female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into groups: Control, casted (CAST), CAST + Acupuncture (CAST-A), 4) CAST + Electro-acupuncture (CAST-EA), and CAST + Electrical stimulation (CAST-ES) ( n = 8). Plaster casting material was wrapped around the left hind limb. Acupuncture and electro-acupuncture (10 Hz, 6.4 mA) treatments were applied by needling acupoints (stomach-36 and gallbladder-34). Electrical stimulation (10 Hz, 6.4 mA) was conducted by needling the lateral and medial gastrocnemius muscles. Treatments were conducted for 15 min, three times/week for 14 days. Muscle atrophy F-box (MAFbx), muscle RING finger 1 (MuRF1), and contractile properties were assessed. Results: Fourteen days of cast-immobilization decreased muscle fiber CSA by 56% in the CAST group ( p = 0.00); whereas, all treatment groups demonstrated greater muscle fiber CSA than the CAST group ( p = 0.00). Cast-immobilization increased MAFbx and MuRF1 protein expression in the CAST group ( p < 0.01) while the CAST-A, CAST-EA, and CAST-ES groups demonstrated lower levels of MAFbx and MuRF1 protein expression ( p < 0.02) compared to the CAST group. Following fourteen days of cast-immobilization, peak twitch tension did not differ between the CAST-A and CON groups ( p = 0.12 ).Conclusion: Skeletal muscle atrophy, induced by 14 days of cast-immobilization, was significantly attenuated by acupuncture, electroacupuncture, or electrical stimulation.(c) 2023 Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )