Bau Jian-Guo, Wu Shyi-Kuen, Huang Bo-Wen, Lin Tony Tung-Liang, Huang Shih-Chung
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hungkuang University, Taichung City 433, Taiwan.
Department of Physical Therapy, Hungkuang University, Taichung City 433, Taiwan.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Nov 29;11(12):2226. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics11122226.
Vascular impairment is a crucial factor associated with chronic muscle pain, but relevant research from the microcirculatory aspect is lacking. Here, we investigated the differences in neck muscle microcirculation detected through laser-doppler flowmetry (LDF) and cervical biomechanics by a videofluoroscopic image in asymptomatic participants and patients with postural neck and shoulder pain. To understand the mechanism behind the effect of myofascial treatment, transverse friction massage (TFM) was applied and the immediate effects of muscular intervention on microcirculation were monitored. In total, 16 asymptomatic participants and 22 patients (mean age = 26.3 ± 2.4 and 25.4 ± 3.2 years, respectively) were recruited. Their neck muscle microcirculation and spinal image sequence were assessed. The differences in the baseline blood flow between the asymptomatic and patient groups were nonsignificant. However, the standard deviations in the measurements of the upper trapezius muscle in the patients were significantly larger ( < 0.05). Regarding the TFM-induced responses of skin microcirculation, the blood flow ratio was significantly higher in the patients than in the asymptomatic participants ( < 0.05). In conclusion, postintervention hyperemia determined through noninvasive LDF may be an indicator for the understanding of the mechanism underlying massage therapies and the design of interventions for postural pain.
血管损伤是与慢性肌肉疼痛相关的一个关键因素，但缺乏从微循环方面进行的相关研究。在此，我们通过激光多普勒血流仪（LDF）研究了无症状参与者以及患有姿势性颈肩疼痛的患者颈部肌肉微循环的差异，并通过视频荧光镜图像研究了颈椎生物力学。为了解肌筋膜治疗效果背后的机制，我们进行了横向摩擦按摩（TFM），并监测了肌肉干预对微循环的即时影响。总共招募了16名无症状参与者和22名患者（平均年龄分别为26.3±2.4岁和25.4±3.2岁）。评估了他们的颈部肌肉微循环和脊柱图像序列。无症状组和患者组之间的基线血流差异不显著。然而，患者斜方肌上部测量值的标准差显著更大（<0.05）。关于TFM引起的皮肤微循环反应，患者的血流比显著高于无症状参与者（<0.05）。总之，通过非侵入性LDF测定的干预后充血可能是理解按摩疗法机制和姿势性疼痛干预设计的一个指标。
