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Stretching Impacts Inflammation Resolution in Connective Tissue

PainSci » bibliography » Berrueta et al 2016
updated
Tags: inflammation, stretch, neat, counter-intuitive, pain problems, exercise, self-treatment, treatment, muscle

Three pages on PainSci cite Berrueta 2016: 1. The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain 2. Quite a Stretch 3. Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis 

PainSci notes on Berrueta 2016:

In a previous experiment, these researchers claim to have found evidence that stretching successfully treated inflammation and pain in rats. In this follow-up experiment, they looked more closely at the biology, measuring markers of inflammation: inflammatory lesion thickness, neutrophil count, resolvin (RvD1) concentration. They believe this shows a “direct mechanical impact of stretching on inflammation-regulation mechanisms within connective tissue.” It’s intriguing science for sure, but replication in humans is needed before we get too excited about it.

original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.

Acute inflammation is accompanied from its outset by the release of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), including resolvins, that orchestrate the resolution of local inflammation. We showed earlier that, in rats with subcutaneous inflammation of the back induced by carrageenan, stretching for 10 min twice daily reduced inflammation and improved pain, 2 weeks after carrageenan injection. In this study, we hypothesized that stretching of connective tissue activates local pro-resolving mechanisms within the tissue in the acute phase of inflammation. In rats injected with carrageenan and randomized to stretch versus no stretch for 48?h, stretching reduced inflammatory lesion thickness and neutrophil count, and increased resolvin (RvD1) concentrations within lesions. Furthermore, subcutaneous resolvin injection mimicked the effect of stretching. In ex vivo experiments, stretching of connective tissue reduced the migration of neutrophils and increased tissue RvD1 concentration. These results demonstrate a direct mechanical impact of stretching on inflammation-regulation mechanisms within connective tissue.

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