Morphometric and Molecular Muscle Remodeling after Passive Stretching in Elderly Female Rats.

Objectives: To determine the effects of three sessions of a passive stretching exercise protocol on the muscles of elderly female rats.

Methods: The effects of the stretching exercises on the soleus muscle were analyzed using immunohistochemistry [tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP), the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and the gene expression levels using real-time PCR of the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), collagen type 1 (COL1), and collagen type 3 (COL3)]. Fifteen 26-month-old female Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups, namely, Stretching (SG, n=8) and Control (CG, n=7).

Cryotherapy Reduces Inflammatory Response Without Altering Muscle Regeneration Process and Extracellular Matrix Remodeling of Rat Muscle.

The application of cryotherapy is widely used in sports medicine today. Cooling could minimize secondary hypoxic injury through the reduction of cellular metabolism and injury area. Conflicting results have also suggested cryotherapy could delay and impair the regeneration process.