Analgesic Effect of Tuina on Rat Models with Compression of the Dorsal Root Ganglion Pain

Summary

This article presents a manipulation for treating chronic compression of the dorsal root ganglion in rats using Tuina therapy, along with a method for evaluating its effectiveness based on pain behavior and histopathological results.

Abstract

Neuropathic pain is a prevalent condition that affects 6.9%-10% of the population and results from nerve damage due to various etiologies, such as lumbar disc herniation, spinal canal stenosis, and intervertebral foramen stenosis. Although Tuina, a traditional Chinese manual therapy, has shown analgesic effects in clinical practice for the treatment of neuropathic pain, its underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. Animal models are essential for elucidating the basic principles of Tuina. In this study, we propose a standardized Tuina protocol for rats with compression of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG), which involves inducing DRG compression by inserting a stainless steel rod into the intervertebral foramen, performing Tuina manipulation with specific parameters of location, intensity, and frequency in a controlled environment, and assessing the behavioral and histopathological outcomes of Tuina treatment. This article also discusses the potential clinical implications and limitations of the study and suggests directions for future research on Tuina.

Introduction

In clinical settings, it is common to observe neurological pathological pain caused by nerve root compression due to various reasons. The most typical form of this neuropathic pain is lumbar disc herniation (LDH), which is often persistent, recurrent, and difficult to cure. Approximately 9% of the global population is affected by LDH, leading to significant social and economic burdens¹. The incidence of this type of neuropathic pain is increasing yearly, with a trend toward younger patients, due to changes in human production and lifestyle². Despite the use of non-steroidal painkillers, patients' symptoms cannot be c....

Protocol

This work was carried out at the Pain Lab of the Neurobiology Institute at Fudan University. The experiments were approved and strictly adhered to the guidelines for the protection of laboratory animals established by the International Association for the Study of Pain (LASP) for all surgical procedures and animal handling. Clean-grade Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, consisting of 32 males between 40-50 days old, with an average weight of 220 ± 1.38 g, were used for the present study. These rats were obtained from the Exp.......

Discussion

Our research group has conducted relevant studies on the parameters of Tuina manipulation in early stage. First, it is important to set the force intensity for Tuina manipulation. In clinical Tuina, practitioners adjust the force intensity according to their experience and patients' subjective feelings, achieving the best Tuina effect through communication. However, this is not feasible in animal experiments. In animal experiments, a "response threshold" is used to define the intensity of Tuina manipulation. .......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
"L" stainless steel rod (4 mm long and 0.4 mm in diameter)	hand-made	/	For CCD models making
ALMEMO admeasuring apparatus	ahlborn	2450-1	Mechanical Withdrawal Threshold test
Constant temperature slicer CM-1900	Leica	1491950C1US	For specimen production
Disinfectant (iodine) 100 mL/bottle	LIRCON/Shandong Lilkang	/	For disinfection
Disposable sterile syringe 5 mL	Shanghai Misha Wa Medical Industry	/	For injection
Electron microscope CX-31	Olympus, Japan	BJ002318	For specimen observation
Finger pressure recordings	Suzhou Changxian Optoelectronic Technology	CX1003w	For Tuina manipulation
Foam board (35 cm x 20 cm)	hand-made	/	It is our homemade apparatus for fixing rats
MERSILK W2512	Johnson & Johnson	/	For tissue suture
Neutral balsam	Sinopharm Chemical Reagent	10004160	For specimen production
paraformaldehyde	China National Chemical Reagent	/	For specimen production
Pentobarbital sodium	Sigma-Aldrich	P3761	For anesthesia of rat
Plantar Test Apparatus (Hargreaves Method) for Mice and Rats	IITC Life Science	/	Paw Withdrawal Latency
Precision electronic scale for experiment JY3002	Shanghai Precision Scientific Instrument	/	Weighing of rat
Rat hair clipper	Philips	HP6341/00	Shaving of rat fur
Restrainer for rats	Tongji University (self-made)	/	It is a homemade apparatus made by Tongji University, which can effectively immobilize the rats and fully expose their hind limbs.
Tissue-Tek O.C.T. Compound	SAKURA	4583	For specimen production
Uratan	China National Chemical Reagent	/	For anesthesia of rat
X-ray detector XR-600	Dongguan Kaso Electronic Technology	/	Examination of CCD models
xylene	Shanghai Sinopharm Group	100092	For specimen production