Objective To evaluate the effect of jumping in aquatic environment on nociception and in the soleus muscle of trained and not trained Wistar rats, in the treatment of compressive neuropathy of the sciatic nerve.Methods Twenty-five Wistar rats were distributed into five groups: Control, Lesion, Trained + Lesion, Lesion + Exercise, and Trained + Lesion + Exercise. The training was jumping exercise in water environment for 20 days prior to injury, and treatment after the injury. Nociception was evaluated in two occasions, before injury and seven after injury. On the last day of the experiment, the right soleus muscles were collected, processed and analyzed as to morphology and morphometry.Results In the assessment of nociception in the injury site, the Control Group had higher average than the rest, and the Lesion Group was larger than the Trained + Lesion and Lesion + Exercise Groups. The Control Group showed higher nociceptive threshold in paw, compared to the others. In the morphometric analysis, in relation to Control Group, all the injured groups showed decreased muscle fiber area, and in the Lesion Group was lower than in the Lesion + Exercise Group and Trained + Lesion Group. Considering the diameter of the muscle fiber, the Control Group had a higher average than the Trained + Lesion Group and the Trained + Lesion + Exercise Group; and the Lesion Group showed an average lower than the Trained + Lesion and Lesion + Exercise Groups.Conclusion Resistance exercise produced increased nociception. When performed prior or after nerve damage, it proved effective in avoiding hypotrophy. The combination of the two protocols led to decrease in diameter and area of the muscle fiber.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are few studies in the literature especially reporting the effects of LASER associated to neural mobilization for sciatica. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of low-level LASER with wavelength of 830 nm and fluency of 4 J/cm 2 , of neural mobilization and of their association to decrease pain. METHODS:Sample was made up of 28 Wistar female rats, separated in four groups: G1 (placebo); G2 (neural mobilization); G3 (LASER); G4 (neural mobilization and LASER), being that all groups were submitted to sciatic nerve compression. Treatment was performed in the 3 rd , 5 th , 7 th , 10 th , 12 th and in the 14 th postoperative days. To evaluate nociception an analgesimeter was applied both to injury site and the plantar region of right hind paw. Evaluation moments were AV1 (pre-injury); AV2 (3 rd postoperative day before treatment); AV3 (4 th postoperative day); AV4 (7 th postoperative day), AV5 (10 th postoperative day) and AV6 (14 th postoperative day) before treatment; and AV7 (15 th postoperative day). RESULTS: At evaluation sites, there has been no statistically significant difference among groups, but in comparing evaluations there has been significant difference where AV1 values were higher as compared to remaining evaluations. CONCLUSION: Low-level LASER with wavelength of 830nm and fluency of 4J/cm 2 , neural mobilization and the association of both techniques were not effective to increase nociceptive threshold to pressure of female rats submitted to experimental sciatica.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of exercise in the aquatic environment, performed before and/or after sciatic nerve compression in Wistar rats on morphological and functional parameters. Twenty-five Wistar rats were divided into the following groups: control (C), lesion (L), trained+lesion (TL), lesion+exercise (LE), and training+lesion+exercise (TLE), who underwent right sciatic nerve compression on day 21 of the experiment. The TL and TLE groups were submitted to a jumping exercise in a water environment for 20 days prior to injury and the LE and TLE groups after injury. The functional analysis was carried out using the sciatic functional index (SFI). On the last day of the experiment, the right sciatic nerves were collected, processed and analysed according to morphology and morphometry. The C group showed higher SFI in relation to the other groups. In the morphometric analysis, in comparison to C, all groups showed a decrease in the diameter of the injured nerve fibre, the myelin sheath and an increase in the percentage of connective tissue. There was a decrease in axon diameter in L, TL, and LE groups and a decrease in the density of nerve fibres in the TL and LE groups. The exercise did not affect functional recovery. However, the exercise prior to the injury improved morphology of the nervous tissue, and when performed pre- and postinjury, there was also an improvement in nerve regeneration, but this was not the case with exercise performed after the injury demonstrating worse results.

It was our objective to analyse the effects of resistance exercise (climbing steps), which was started in the acute phase, on the histomorphometry and the expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in the soleus muscle after sciatic nerve injury in Wistar rats. Twenty-four adult rats were randomly divided into the following four groups, containing six animals each: control (G1); exercise (G2); injury (G3); and exercise with injury (G4). Three days after the compression of the sciatic nerve, the animals in G2 and G4 were submitted to resistance exercise for 21 non-consecutives days. The exercise was conducted in two series of 10 consecutive ascents of the ladder, with an additional weight of 100g and with an interval of 60 seconds between sets for rest. After this period, the animals were sacrificed, and the soleus muscle was processed. The number of blood capillaries in G3 was 65.7% and 76.86% higher when compared with the G2 and G4, respectively. The morphological analysis revealed muscle damage in G3, hypertrophy in G2 and significant improvement in the muscle in G4. The AQP1 was immunolocalized in the endothelium of blood capillaries present in the muscle fibres, with different expressions in the groups. Resistance exercise initiated in the acute phase was an effective therapeutic modality in the recovery of morphological aspects in the soleus muscle after denervation.

Introdução: A crioterapia é uma modalidade terapêutica que visa reduzir processos álgicos e inflamatórios, sendo que a imersão é considerada a forma mais eficaz; no entanto, a literatura apresenta possíveis efeitos deletérios com relação à aplicação da crioterapia em nervos superficiais. Objetivo: Avaliar o efeito da crioterapia em modelo experimental de compressão do nervo isquiático em ratos Wistar, por meio de análise funcional e morfológica. Métodos: Foram utilizados 42 ratos, sendo seis animais por grupo: G1 -controle, submetido à eutanásia no 15º dia de pós-operatório (PO); G2, G3 e G4 -submetidos à compressão do nervo isquiático, submetidos à eutanásia no 3º, 8º e 15º dias de PO, respectivamente; G5, G6 e G7 -submetidos à compressão do nervo isquiático e tratados com crioterapia, submetidos à eutanásia no 3º, 8º e 15º dias de PO, respectivamente. As avaliações do índice funcional do isquiático (IFC) e do teste de incapacidade funcional aconteceram nos momentos pré-lesão, no 2º de PO e no dia da eutanásia em cada grupo com lesão. Após o período de intervenção, os animais foram devidamente anestesiados e o nervo isquiático distal ao procedimento de compressão foi dissecado e coletado para análise morfológica. A análise estatística foi realizada pelo teste de ANOVA mista, com nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: Houve diminuição do IFC após a lesão e o teste de incapacidade funcional mostrou aumento do tempo de elevação da pata. Com relação à análise morfológica, o G1 apresentou fibras nervosas com aspecto normal e nos grupos com lesão houve degeneração nervosa, sendo que o G6 teve uma discreta recuperação das fibras nervosas, além de leve regeneração no G4 e G7. Conclusão: A crioterapia não foi eficaz para recuperar os parâmetros funcionais analisados, entretanto, houve discreta melhora dos aspectos morfológicos do grupo submetido à eutanásia no 8º dia de PO. Nível de Evidência II; Estudos terapêuticos -Investigação dos resultados do tratamento.Descritores: Síndromes de compressão nervosa; Nervo isquiático; Modalidades de fisioterapia; Crioterapia; Medição da dor. ABSTRACT

ResumoOs nervos periféricos são comumente acometidos por lesões. Dentre as causas mais comuns, estão: traumas, estiramento, pinçamento, compressão e esmagamento do tecido nervoso, que resulta em comprometimentos motores, sensoriais e limitações funcionais. Existem diversas formas de tratamento, dentre as abordagens terapêuticas não cirúrgicas, pode-se citar o laser de baixa potência, o qual apresenta uma série de indicações, desempenhando ação analgésica, anti-inflamatória e cicatrizante. Entretanto, há uma aparente carência na literatura brasileira com relação ao efeito do laser da faixa de luz visível (luz vermelha) como modalidade de tratamento para lesão nervosa periférica, bem como, a falta de revisões sistemáticas publicadas. Desta maneira, o objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão sistemática sobre o laser de baixa potência, no espectro de luz vermelha em lesão nervosa periférica. Para a realização deste estudo foram consultadas as bases de dados Scielo, Lilacs e Google Acadêmico, com as seguintes palavras chaves: Laser de baixa potência; Laser de baixa potên-cia e Lesão nervosa periférica; Laser de baixa potência 660 nm na lesão nervosa periférica e "Laser de 670 nm" "ciatalgia". Com isso, foram encontrados 20 estudos, mas, devido aos critérios de inclusão e exclusão, foram selecionados apenas cinco. Após análise dos mesmos, concluímos que o laser de baixa potência, no espectro de luz vermelha em lesão nervosa periférica em dois dos cinco artigos inclusos, por meio de literatura nacional demonstrou melhorar o processo de regeneração nervosa, porém os parâmetros utilizados são variados o que dificulta uma comparação entre os estudos.Palavras-chave: Terapia a laser de baixa intensidade; Traumatismos dos nervos periféricos; Regeneração Nervosa.• Artigo submetido para avaliação em 16/12/2014 e aceito para publicação em 26/03/2015 •

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Objective:To evaluate the effects of right sciatic nerve compression and cryotherapy on muscle tissue.Methods:We used 42 male Wistar rats, subdivided in the following Groups Control, Injury 3, Injury 8 and Injury 15 submitted to nerve compression and euthanized in the 3rd, 8th and 15th day after surgery. The Cryotherapy Injury 3 was entailed treatment with cryotherapy by immersion of the animal in recipient for 20 minutes during 1 day, then animals were euthanized at the 3rd day after surgery, and the Cryotherapy Injury 8 and the Cryotherapy Injury 15 was treated for 6 days, and euthanized at the 8th and 15th day after surgery. Functional evaluation was performed by the grasping strength of the right pelvic limb. The right tibialis anterior muscles were evaluated for mass, smaller diameter and cross-sectional area. In the Cryotherapy Injury 8 and the Cryotherapy Injury 15 groups, the hydroxyproline was dosed in the right soles.Results:In the compression there was a significant difference in the Injury Groups compared with the Control Group (p<0.05). In the smaller diameter, the compression in Control Group was higher than Injury 8 (p=0.0094), Injury 15 (p=0.002) and Cryotherapy Injury 15 (p<0.001) groups. The comparison between groups with euthanasia in the same post-operative period, a significant difference (p=0.0363) was seen in day 8th after surgery, and this result in Cryotherapy Injury Group was greater than Injury Group. In the fiber area, Control Group was also higher than the Injury 8 (p=0.0018), the Injury 15 (p<0.001) and the Cryotherapy Injury 15 (p<0.001). In hydroxyproline, no significant difference was seen between groups.Conclusion:Nerve damage resulted in decreased muscle strength and trophism, the cryotherapy delayed hypotrophy, but this effect did not persist after cessation of treatment.