title: Reactions of the rat musculoskeletal system to compressive spinal cord injury (SCI) and whole body vibration (WBV) therapy.
abstract: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes a loss of locomotor function with associated compromise of the musculo-skeletal system. Whole body vibration (WBV) is a potential therapy following SCI, but little is known about its effects on the musculo-skeletal system. Here, we examined locomotor recovery and the musculo-skeletal system after thoracic (T7-9) compression SCI in adult rats. Daily WBV was started at 1, 7, 14 and 28 days after injury (WBV1-WBV28 respectively) and continued over a 12-week post-injury period. Intact rats, rats with SCI but no WBV (sham-treated) and a group that received passive flexion and extension (PFE) of their hind limbs served as controls. Compared to sham-treated rats, neither WBV nor PFE improved motor function. Only WBV14 and PFE improved body support. In line with earlier studies we failed to detect signs of soleus muscle atrophy (weight, cross sectional diameter, total amount of fibers, mean fiber diameter) or bone loss in the femur (length, weight, bone mineral density). One possible explanation is that, despite of injury extent, the preservation of some axons in the white matter, in combination with quadripedal locomotion, may provide sufficient trophic and neuronal support for the musculoskeletal system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy I, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy I, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pick
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy I, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harrach
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital Merheim, University of Witten-Herdecke, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bendella
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Akdeniz University of Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozsoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Akdeniz University of Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ozsoy
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schoenau
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand-, Plastic-, and Reconstructive Surgery with Burn Unit, BG- Trauma Centre, University of Tuebingen, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jaminet
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Akdeniz University of Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sarikcioglu
authors.affiliation: School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dunlop
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy I, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Angelov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000473:pathology; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000503:physiopathology; D008124:Locomotion; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000473:pathology*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*