Comparison of the Effects of Electroacupuncture and Melatonin on Nerve Regeneration in Experimentally Nerve-Damaged Rats.

Background: Development of methods to accelerate nerve regeneration in peripheral nerve damage is important. Electroacupuncture is a new therapeutic method that combines traditional acupuncture with modern electrotherapy. Melatonin has been shown to reduce nerve damage. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine and compare the therapeutic effects of electroacupuncture and melatonin on rat sciatic nerve injury. Methods: A total of 56 adult male Wistar Albino rats were divided into four study groups with 14 animals in each group: intact control (group I), subcutaneous saline (group II), subcutaneous melatonin (group III), and electroacupuncture (group IV). Surgical procedure including unilateral (right) sciatic nerve injury was applied to groups II, III, and IV. Saline and melatonin started immediately after surgery for six weeks, while electroacupuncture was given two weeks after surgery for 3 weeks. Functional and histological assessments were used as outcome measurements. Results: Sciatic nerve damage caused a significant decrease in nerve conduction velocity. Both electroacupuncture treatment and melatonin treatment significantly increased the nerve conduction velocity. Both sciatic functional recovery and histological regeneration were faster in these treatment groups compared to the saline. However, no significant difference was observed between the two treatment groups. Conclusion: Electroacupuncture and melatonin are promising alternative treatment strategies for peripheral nerve damage and can be examined in detail in future studies.

The Efficacy of Electro-Acupuncture Added to Standard Therapy in the Management of Bell Palsy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the comparative efficacy of electro-acupuncture when added to standard therapy in patients with Bell palsy in terms of clinical and neurophysiologic outcomes. METHODS: A total of 88 patients with Bell palsy who received standard treatment (ST group; n = 40, mean ± standard deviation age: 39.2 ±â€Š6.6 years, 60.0% were males) or standard treatment plus electro-acupuncture (ST-EA group; n = 48, mean ±â€Šstandard deviation age: 39.5 ±â€Š6.9 years, 58.3% were males) were included. Data on patient demographics, symptoms, comorbidities, and 3-month outcomes on treatment response assessed via House-Brackmann grading system and facial nerve recovery profile and electromyography were recorded. RESULTS: Application of ST-EA versus ST was associated with a significantly higher rate of normal nerve function on 12th week electromyography (66.7% versus 25.0%, P = 0.020), higher frequency of patients with House-Brackmann grade ≤2 in the 3rd week (79.2% versus 45.0%, P = 0.029), 6th week (87.5% versus 45.0%, P = 0.004), and 12th week (95.8% versus 50.0%, P = 0.001), and those with facial nerve recovery profile scores ≥8 in the 6th week (83.3% versus 45.0%, P = 0.011) and 12th week (87.5% versus 50.0%, P = 0.009) of treatment. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our findings in patients with Bell palsy revealed superiority of electro-acupuncture added to standard therapy over standard therapy alone in terms of improvement of nerve dysfunction, decrease in paralysis severity, and better functional recovery. This seems to indicate the likelihood of electro-acupuncture to be a safe and promising adjunct in the achievement of more satisfactory clinical outcomes in the management of Bell palsy when used in combination with standard medical and physiotherapy.

Comparison of the Efficacies of Dry Needling and Botox Methods in the Treatment of Myofascial Pain Syndrome Affecting the Temporomandibular Joint.

BACKGROUND: To compare the efficacies of botulinum toxin-A injection and dry needling methods in the treatment of patients with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). METHODS: In this prospective study, 40 MPS patients (29 women, 11 men) were randomly assigned to abobotulinum toxin-A injection (Group 1, n = 20) or dry needling (Group 2, n = 20) groups. Pain, crepitation, functional limitation, maximum mouth opening, jaw strength were evaluated at baseline and 6 weeks, and the results in both groups were compared. RESULTS: The average age of the authors' patients was 33.8±8.1. There was a remarkable difference between 2 groups regarding visual analog scale for TMJ pain at rest (P = 0.048). The pain at rest was relieved more effectively in Group 2 at the end of 6 weeks. Improvement in jaw protrusion angles on the right (P = 0.009) and left (P = 0.002) sides was more evident in Group 2 after 6 weeks. There were significant pain relief and functional improvement after treatment in both groups. In Group 2, recovery of the TMJ function was more obvious in 6 weeks following dry needling (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The authors suggest that abobotulinum toxin-A injection and dry needling yield satisfactory therapeutic outcomes regarding pain relief and restoration of function in patients with MPS involving TMJ. Further multicentric, randomized, controlled trials on larger series are warranted to obtain more accurate and reliable information.

Short-Term Effects of Kinesio Taping in Women with Pregnancy-Related Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND Pregnancy-related low back pain is a common condition during pregnancy. Kinesio tape is a drug-free elastic therapeutic tape used for treating various musculoskeletal problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the short-term effects of lumbar Kinesio taping on pain intensity and disability in women with pregnancy-related low back pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 65 patients with pregnancy-related low back pain were randomly allocated into either Kinesio taping (n=33) or control (n=32) groups. The intervention group was treated with paracetamol plus Kinesio taping, while the control group received only paracetamol. Kinesio taping was applied in the lumbar flexion position, and four I-shaped bands were used. Two bands were attached horizontally, with space correction technique. The remaining 2 bands, 1 on each side of the lumbar spine, were placed vertically, with inhibition technique. Low back pain intensity was measured on a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS), and the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) was used for evaluation of disability. RESULTS Pain intensity and RMDQ scores improved significantly in both groups at 5 days compared with baseline. Considering the degree of treatment effect (the change from baseline to day 5), the Kinesio taping group was significantly superior than the control group in all outcome measures (for all, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that Kinesio taping can be used as a complementary treatment method to achieve effective control of pregnancy-related low back pain.

Efficiency of therapeutic ultrasound on pain, disability, anxiety, depression, sleep and quality of life in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS) is characterized by pain and disability of shoulder. Various treatment methods have been used for SIS. OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to evaluate efficacy of therapeutic ultrasound (US) on pain, disability, anxiety, depression, sleep quality and quality of life in patients with SIS. METHODS: Patients with SIS were randomly divided into two groups, including the group 1 (continuous US group; 3 MHz, 1.5 W/cm2, n = 26) and group 2 (sham US group, n = 24). Additionally, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) + exercise program were added in both groups. Pain and disability of the shoulder were assessed by the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), while anxiety and depression were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality. Quality of life was evalutaed by the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Patients were evaluated at baseline and after end of three weeks. RESULTS: Both groups had significantly improvements in terms of SPADI-pain, SPADI-disability, SPADI-total, NHP-pain and NHP-sleep scores after the three weeks interventions. There were significantly improvements in the Group 1 in terms of PSQI-total, and NHP-physical activity. Group 2 had significantly improvements in terms of anxiety-HADS, depression-HADS and NHP-emotional reaction scores. In the inter-group comparison, there were no significantly differences in the change scores were observed in any domains of SPADI scores, anxiety, depression and sleep scores, or any NHP scores. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that US does not have any benefits on SIS. TENS + exercise program are not effective on anxiety, depression and fatigue, however TENS +$ exercise program are effective on pain, disability and sleep disturbance in patients with SIS.

Effects of zinc deficiency and supplementation on the glycogen contents of liver and plasma lactate and leptin levels of rats performing acute exercise.

The aim of the present study was to investigate how zinc (Zn) deficiency and supplementation affect glycogen content of the liver and plasma lactate and leptin levels of rats performing acute swimming exercise just before the blood samples were obtained. Four sets of 10 rats each served as the (1) Zn-deficient group, (2) Zn-supplemented group, (3) swimming controls, and (4) normal controls. Plasma lactate levels of Zn-deficient animals were significantly higher than those in the other three groups (p<0.01), and those in the swimming controls (group 3) were significantly higher than in the Zn-supplemented animals, group 2 (p<0.01). The plasma glucose of the Zn-deficient group was significantly higher than all other groups (p<0.01) and that of group 2 was significantly lower than group 4 (p<0.01). Glycogen levels in liver of the Zn-deficient animals was significantly lower than groups 2 and 4 (p<0.01), and, in turn, were higher than for group 3 (p<0.01). The plasma leptin and Zn levels of group 1 were significantly lower than in all other groups (p<0.01). These results suggest that Zn deficiency exerts a negative influence in the above-mentioned parameters and that Zn supplementation has the opposite effect.