Development of intervention strategy based on mechanisms for immobilization-induced muscle pain

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K23290
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0909:Sports sciences, physical education, health sciences, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kobe Gakuin University (2021); Nagasaki University (2020)
• Principal Investigator: Ohga Satoshi 神戸学院大学, 総合リハビリテーション学部, 助教 (50882437)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 不活動 / 筋痛 / 骨格筋電気刺激法 / NGF / マクロファージ / 筋萎縮

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study was to develop intervention strategy based on mechanisms for immobilized-induced muscle pain, and the effects of recently developed belt-electrode skeletal muscle electrical stimulation (B-SES) on immobilization-induced muscle pain were examined in two stimulus conditions. Our results showed that both B-SES stimulus conditions reduced immobilization-induced muscle pain, suggesting that suppression of NGF expression in skeletal muscle may be involved in this mechanism. However, we observed the effects on muscle atrophy and macrophage accumulation only in one B-SES stimulus condition, suggesting that frequent stimulus input to skeletal muscle may reduce immobilization-induced muscle pain, regardless of the inhibition of muscle atrophy progression.

Free Research Field

リハビリテーション科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

不活動性疼痛の存在が初めて報告されたのは約20年前であり，以後，基礎・臨床研究の双方で不活動性疼痛の病態や発生メカニズムの解明が進み，その存在は疼痛医学領域では周知の事実となった．特に骨格筋に発生する不活動性筋痛の知見は申請者が近年報告したものであり（Oga S, et al.: Muscle Nerve 61, 2020），そのメカニズムに基づいた介入戦略を考案し，得られた本研究成果は学術的意義が高いといえる．また，不活動性筋痛に対する有効な介入戦略は確立されていないため，不活動性筋痛に苦しむ患者に対する新たなリハビリテーション戦略を提供するという観点からも社会的意義が高いと考える．