Contrasting alteration patterns of different cartilage plates in knee articular cartilage after spinal cord injury in rats

Moriyama, Hideki; Nishihara, Ken; Hosoda, Masataka; Saka, Yukari; Kanemura, Naohiko; Takayanagi, Kiyomi; Yoshimura, Osamu; Tobimatsu, Yoshiko

doi:10.1038/sc.2008.96

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The lower limb joints are unloaded and restricted in movement in animals and in humans with spinal cord injuries [23]. Previous studies have shown thinning of the rat knee cartilage 4 weeks after a spinal cord injury [22,23]. However, in the current study, cartilage thickness remained unchanged and no effect of stretching was detected.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 50%

“…Mechanical overload induces VEGF [29] and therefore mechanical stress by stretching may stimulate VEGF expression. However, we previously reported vascular invasions of the subchondral bone penetrating the cartilage 4 weeks after a spinal cord injury [22,23]. VEGF encourages vascular tissue formation from bone marrow into the articular cartilage [29,31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In total, 32 male Wistar rats (CLEA Japan Inc, Tokyo, Japan; age, 10 weeks; weight, 240-268 g) were used for this study. Surgical procedures and postoperative care conformed to our previous studies [22][23][24][25][26]. Twenty-eight of the 32 rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal administration of 40 mg/kg sodium pentobarbital.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Articular cartilage thickness was measured on sections stained with toluidine blue as described previously [21][22][23]. Changes in femoral and tibial cartilage were determined in the anterior femoral, posterior femoral, anterior tibial, and posterior tibial regions.…”

Section: Cartilage Thicknessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We therefore developed a unique animal model of contractures using rats with spinal cord injuries, with the goal of having this model be representative of animals with central nervous system injuries [25,26]. Previous studies have shown that the articular component (bone, cartilage, synovial membrane, capsule, and ligaments) plays a larger role in pathogenesis of contractures after spinal cord injury than does the muscular component (muscle, tendon, and fascia) [22][23][24]26]. The two major pathologic changes in joint contractures are joint capsule stiffness and cartilage degeneration [5,[22][23][24]34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Amount of Torque and Duration of Stretching Affects Correction of Knee Contracture in a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury

Moriyama¹,

Tobimatsu²,

Ozawa³

et al. 2013

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

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Background Joint contractures are a common complication of many neurologic conditions, and stretching often is advocated to prevent and treat these contractures. However, the magnitude and duration of the stretching done in practice usually are guided by subjective clinical impressions. Questions/purposes Using an established T8 spinal cord injury rat model of knee contracture, we sought to determine what combination of static or intermittent stretching, varied by magnitude (high or low) and duration (long or short), leads to the best (1) improvement in the limitation in ROM; (2) restoration of the muscular and articular factors leading to contractures; and (3) prevention and treatment of contracture-associated histologic alterations of joint capsule and articular cartilage. Methods Using a rat animal model, the spinal cord was transected completely at the level of T8. The rats were randomly assigned to seven treatment groups (n = 4 per group), which were composed of static or intermittent stretching in combination with different amounts of applied torque magnitude and duration. We assessed the effect of stretching by measuring the ROM and evaluating the histologic alteration of the capsule and cartilage. Results Contractures improved in all treated groups except for the low-torque and short-duration static stretching conditions. High-torque stretching was effective against shortening of the synovial membrane and adhesions in the posterosuperior regions. Collagen Type II and VEGF in the cartilage were increased by stretching. Conclusions High-torque and long-duration static stretching led to greater restoration of ROM than the other torque and duration treatment groups. Stretching was more effective in improving articular components of contractures compared with the muscular components. Stretching in this rat model prevented shortening and adhesion of the joint capsule, and affected biochemical composition, but did not change morphologic features of the cartilage. Clinical Relevance This animal study tends to support the ideas that static stretching can influence joint ROM and histologic qualities of joint tissues, and that the way stretching is performed influences its efficacy. However, further studies are warranted to determine if our findings are clinically applicable.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 50%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cartilage Thicknessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Amount of Torque and Duration of Stretching Affects Correction of Knee Contracture in a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury

Moriyama¹,

Tobimatsu²,

Ozawa³

et al. 2013

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

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Effects of aging and exercise training on the histological and mechanical properties of articular structures in knee joints of male rat

et al. 2012

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The impact of aging on joints can have a profound effect on an individual's functioning. Our objectives were to assess the histological and mechanical properties of the knee joint capsule and articular cartilage with aging, and to examine the effects of exercise on age-related changes in the knee joint. 2-year-old Wistar rats were divided into a sedentary control group and an exercise-trained group. 10-week-old animals were used to investigate the changes with aging. The joint capsule and cartilage were evaluated with histological, histomorphometric, immunohistochemical, and mechanical analyses. Severe degenerative changes in articular cartilage were observed with aging, whereas exercise apparently did not have a significant effect. The articular cartilage of aged rats was characterized by damage to the cartilage surface, cell clustering, and an abnormal cartilage matrix. Histomorphometric analysis further revealed changes in cartilage thickness as well as a decreased number of chondrocytes. Aging led to stiffness of the articular cartilage and reduced the ability to dissipate the load and distribute the strain generated within the joint. Joint stiffness with aging was independent of capsular stiffness and synovitis was not a characteristic feature of the aging joint. This study confirms that aging alone eventually leads to joint degeneration in a rat model. The lack of recovery in aging joint changes may be due to several factors, such as the duration of the intervention and the regeneration ability of the cartilage.

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Stretching After Heat But Not After Cold Decreases Contractures After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Iwasawa

Nomura

Sakitani

et al. 2016

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

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Background Contractures are a prevalent and potentially severe complication in patients with neurologic disorders. Although heat, cold, and stretching are commonly used for treatment of contractures and/or spasticity (the cause of many contractures), the sequential effects of these modalities remain unclear. Questions/purposes Using an established rat model with spinal cord injury with knee flexion contracture, we sought to determine what combination of heat or cold before stretching is the most effective for treatment of contractures derived from spastic paralyses and investigated which treatment leads to the best (1) improvement in the loss of ROM; (2) restoration of deterioration in the muscular and articular factors responsible for contractures; and (3) amelioration of histopathologic features such as muscular fibrosis in biceps femoris and shortening of the joint capsule. Methods Forty-two adolescent male Wistar rats were used. After spasticity developed at 2 weeks postinjury, each animal with spinal cord injury underwent the treatment protocol daily for 1 week. Knee extension ROM was measured with a goniometer by two examiners blinded to each other's scores. The muscular and articular factors contributing to contractures were calculated by measuring ROM before and after the myotomies. We quantitatively measured the muscular fibrosis and the synovial intima length, and observed the distribution of collagen of skeletal muscle. The results were confirmed by a blinded observer. Results The ROM of heat alone (34°± 1°) and cold alone (34°± 2°) rats were not different with the numbers available from that of rats with spinal cord injury (35°± 2°) (p = 0.92 and 0.89, respectively). Stretching after heat (24°± 1°) was more effective than stretching alone (27°± 3°) at increasing ROM (p \ 0.001). Contrastingly, there was no difference between stretching after cold (25°± 1°) and stretching alone (p = 0.352). Stretching after heat was the most effective for percentage improvement of muscular (29%) and articular (50%) factors of contractures. Although quantification of muscular fibrosis in the rats with spinal cord injury (11% ± 1%) was higher than that of controls (9% ± 0.4%) (p = 0.01), no difference was found between spinal cord injury and each treatment protocol. The total synovial intima length of rats with spinal cord injury (5.9 ± 0.2 mm) became shorter than those of the controls (7.6 ± 0.2 mm) (p \ 0.001), and those of stretching alone (6.9 ± 0.4 mm), stretching after heat (7.1 ± 0.3 mm), and stretching after cold (6.7 ± 0.4 mm)

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Contrasting alteration patterns of different cartilage plates in knee articular cartilage after spinal cord injury in rats

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

Amount of Torque and Duration of Stretching Affects Correction of Knee Contracture in a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury

Amount of Torque and Duration of Stretching Affects Correction of Knee Contracture in a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury

Effects of aging and exercise training on the histological and mechanical properties of articular structures in knee joints of male rat

Stretching After Heat But Not After Cold Decreases Contractures After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

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