A new model of skeletal muscle atrophy induced by immobilization using a hook-and-loop fastener in mice.
Masahiro Aihara, Noboru Hirose, Wakana Katsuta and 3 others
PMID 29184288WHAT IT FOUND
In mice, wrapping the hindlimb with hook-and-loop tape caused the same muscle loss as cast immobilization, but took less time and needed fewer replacements.
This is a research model, not a patient treatment.
Key findings
01Cast and hook-and-loop immobilization reduced muscle weight relative to body weight compared with controls, and the two methods did not differ.
02Muscle fiber diameter decreased in both immobilized groups, and the distribution was similar between cast and hook-and-loop.
03The hook-and-loop method required less time for application and rewinding, and needed fewer rewinds, than cast.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 15 mice were studied, with five in each group. This was a mouse model of immobilization, not a human therapy study. The paper does not report how mice were allocated to groups. The method was tested for two weeks only. It measured mouse muscle and procedure outcomes, not human function or treatment effect. The study was done only in male mice.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that Velcro tape treats muscle atrophy in people. The mice were immobilized to create muscle loss, and both cast and hook-and-loop groups showed reduced muscle weight compared with controls.