Prophylactic Dosing of Myofascial Release in a Human Fibroblast Model of Wound Closure

Abstract

Myofascial release (MFR) allows clinicians to directly stretch and palpate soft tissue restrictions, improving tissue elasticity, and maximizing range of motion. Research has focused on MFR following repetitive motion strain (RMS), however there is no known application of prophylactic MFR. Utilizing in vitro strain models we will investigate the role of prophylactic MFR in regulating fibroblast wound healing. We hypothesize that MFR treatments will have greater efficacy when used prior to the repetitive motion strain, increasing the rate of wound healing. Human fibroblasts were seeded onto 6-well collagen-I bioflex plates, strained with the Flexcell vacuum compression system. Sub-confluent cell constructs were wounded using sterile 1ml pipette tips to create an area devoid of cells. Spatial wound edge changes were monitored to determine closure rate at 0, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours. Pooled data for 36 hours demonstrated that RMS closed 32% faster than the combined RMS+MFR and 30.5% faster than the non-strain control, p<0.05. This meant the data did not support the hypothesis, but prophylactic stretching has been shown to prevent and reduce injury in 5 other models. Prophylactic MFR requires additional studies to expand our model to include multiple dosed treatments with a stronger emphasis on prevention vs. healing.