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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
A Mini-Invasive Internal Fixation Technique for Studying Immobilization-Induced Knee Flexion Contracture in Rats
Published on: May 20, 2019
Changes in postnatal skeletal muscle development induced by alternative immobilization model in female rat
Priscila Cação Benedini-Elias1, Mariana Calvente Morgan, Anna Raquel Silveira Gomes
1Department of Biomechanics, Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Locomotor Apparatus, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto-SP, CEP 14049-900, Brazil.
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to adapt a model of hind limb immobilization to newly weaned female rats and to determine the morphology of shortened soleus and plantaris muscles. Female Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control zero (n = 3) and control and free (n = 8), animals aged 21 and 31 days, respectively, submitted to no intervention, and immobilized (n = 25), animals aged 21 days submitted to immobilization for 10 days and sacrificed at 31 days of age. The device used for immobilization had advantages such as easy connection, good fit, and low cost. The immobilized rats showed a reduction in muscle fiber area and in connective tissue. The adaptation of this immobilization model originally used for adult rats was an excellent alternative for newly weaned rats and was also efficient in inducing significant hind limb disuse.
