Contributions of Nitric Oxide and Prostaglandins to the Local Increase in Muscle Blood Flow following Manual Acupuncture in Rats

Abstract

Objective To investigate the contributions of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGs) to the increase in local muscle blood flow (MBF) observed following manual acupuncture (MA). Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=112; 250-310 g) were injected intraperitoneally with a non-selective NO synthase inhibitor (NG-nitro-Larginine methyl ester hydrochloride: L-NAME; 10, 50 or 500 mg/kg), a non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor (indomethacin; 10, 50 or 500 mg/kg), a combination of L-NAME and indomethacin (500 mg/kg each) or saline only under urethane anaesthesia (1.2 g/kg). We used the sparrow pecking technique for 1 min with a stainless steel acupuncture needle (0.20×30 mm) as the acupuncture stimulation method. The stimulus point was on the right tibialis anterior muscle. 51Chromium-labelled microspheres were used for MBF measurement. Results MA increased MBF in the saline-injected group ( p<0.001). This increase was partially inhibited by L-NAME in a dose-dependent manner ( p>0.05, p<0.05 and p<0.001 for 10, 50 and 500 mg/kg, respectively). On the other hand, indomethacin did not suppress the increase ( p>0.05 each for 10, 50 and 500 mg/kg). No significant difference was observed between the inhibitory effects of combined administration of L-NAME and indomethacin and single administration of L-NAME ( p>0.05). Conclusions These results suggest that NO is a major factor in the MA-induced increase in MBF, while PGs do not contribute significantly to this increase. As complete inhibition was not achieved by administration of L-NAME±indomethacin, it appears that non-NO and non-PG vasodilators are additionally involved. BACKGROUNDAcupuncture induces analgesia and functional improvement in various types of

The local twitch response during trigger point dry needling: Is it necessary for successful outcomes?

“…Interestingly, studies from the acupuncture literature report an initial increase of CGRP and SP after needling in the absence of a LTR (Butts et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2015). The added CGRP may initiate a cascade of vasodilators, to include nitric oxide, which may lead to a washout effect (Shinbara et al, 2013(Shinbara et al, , 2015. Alternatively, the CGRP and SP may work to provide negative feedback onto autoreceptors, ultimately decreasing the release of CGRP and SP (Zhang et al, 2012).…”

A randomised feasibility study using an acupuncture protocol to the Achilles tendon in Achilles tendinopathy

“…Therefore, if a patient has less pain, this could result in an increase in function and activities of daily living. improvements noted in the acupuncture group, may be related to the local increase in blood flow and oxygenation, through pro-inflammatory effects and the mechanism of axon reflexes and the inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system [37,38]. The stimulation of A-Delta and C-afferent fibres would release vasoactive and pro-inflammatory neuropeptides such as calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P, neurokinin and opioids.…”

The Effects of Electrical Acupuncture and Essential Amino Acid Supplementation on Sarcopenic Obesity in Male Older Adults: A Randomized Control Study

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