Effect of Massage on Regulating Oxidative Stress in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in a Rat Model

This study investigated the potential mechanism by which massage protects against intervertebral disc (IVD) trauma progression.

A total of 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham, model, and model plus massage groups (8 rats per group). A rat model of lumbar IVD trauma was established by needle puncture combined with intradiscal tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) injection. Two days after modeling, rats received massage therapy on the BL23 acupoint once daily. Pain-related behavioral tests were conducted. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was employed for histopathological observation of lumbar IVDs. The levels of oxidative stress-related markers were determined using assay kits. Western blotting was utilized for estimating the Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) signaling-associated protein expression in rat lumbar IVDs.

Rats in the massage group had less mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Following massage, the pathological damages in rat lumbar IVDs were improved, reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels were reduced, and superoxide dismutase and glutathione contents were increased. The phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3 in lumbar IVDs was inhibited in rats with massage therapy.

Massage improves pain-related behaviors, inhibits oxidative stress, and suppresses the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in puncture-induced rats.