Objective

2

To observe the effects of acupotomy intervention on ankle dorsiflexion angle， hindlimb grip strength， gait， muscle contractility， and the length and weight of bilateral gastrocnemius muscles in rats with immobilization-induced gastrocnemius fibrosis.

Methods

2

Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into a blank group， a model group， an acupuncture group， and an acupotomy group， with 10 rats in each group. The right ankle joints of rats in the model， acupuncture， and acupotomy groups were fixed in the plantar-flexed position for 4 weeks to establish a gastrocnemius fibrosis model. After successful modeling， rats in the acupuncture and acupotomy groups received one corresponding intervention， followed by 10 days of stretching. After all treatments were completed， the ankle dorsiflexion angle， hindlimb grip strength， gait， muscle contractility， and the length and weight of bilateral gastrocnemius muscles were measured.

Results

2

Compared with the blank group， the model group showed smaller ankle dorsiflexion angle， lower hindlimb grip strength， shorter stride length， smaller paw area， shorter ground contact time， weaker twitch and tetanic contraction forces， shorter length and lower weight of the affected gastrocnemius muscle （

P

<

0.05）， as well as greater paw resistance and longer swing time （

P

<

0.05）. Compared with the model group， the acupotomy group showed significantly larger ankle dorsiflexion angle， higher hindlimb grip strength， longer stride length， larger paw area， longer ground contact time， stronger twitch and tetanic contraction forces， longer length and greater weight of the affected gastrocnemius muscle （

P

<

0.05）， as well as smaller paw resistance and shorter swing time （

P

<

0.05）. Compared with the acupuncture group， the acupotomy group showed significantly larger ankle dorsiflexion angle， higher hindlimb grip strength， larger paw area， longer ground contact time， stronger twitch and tetanic contraction forces， and longer affected gastrocnemius muscle （

P

<

0.05）， as well as smaller paw resistance and shorter swing time （

P

<

0.05）. There were no significant differences in the length and weight of bilateral gastrocnemius muscles between the blank group and the acupotomy gro

up （

P

>

0.05）. In the model group， significant differences were found between the two sides in both muscle length and weight （

P

<

0.05）. In the acupuncture group， there was no significant difference in muscle length between sides （

P

>

0.05）， but a significant difference in muscle weight was observed （

P

<

0.05）.

Conclusion

2

Acupotomy can significantly improve ankle dorsiflexion angle， hindlimb grip strength， gait， and muscle contractility in rats with gastrocnemius fibrosis， while preventing compensatory overuse of the contralateral limb due to impairment of the affected muscle.