Introduction
Eccentric contractions (ECCs) are known to induce both muscle and nerve dysfunction. However, the evidence of acupuncture on ECC-induced muscle and nerve damage is limited. The propose of this study was to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on muscle and nerve damage after ECCs.
Methods
Fifteen young subjects were included to this study. All participants performed 100 ECCs on their flexor pollicis brevis muscle of both hands, and then either EA or rest intervention was randomly assigned. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) were measured before ECCs, immediately after ECC (only for MVC torque), immediately after intervention, day 1, 2 and 5 after ECCs. Repeated two-way ANOVA was performed in each group and time points.
Results
The results showed that MVC torque and DOMS did not differ between groups. However, MCV was showed the significant interactions. MCV in control group demonstrated the significant decreases from immediately after exercise to 2 days post-exercise compared to EA group (immediately after; p = 0.009, day 1; p < 0.001, day 2; p = 0.002).
Conclusion
The intervention of electroacupuncture after strenuous exercise may cause earlier recovery in the nerve function but not in muscle.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was collected form each subject. This study was approved by Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Sports and Health Science, Hosei University (ID: 2023-19).
