Muscle oxygenation regulation in physical therapy and rehabilitation

Jan, Yih-Kuen1,*; Cheung, W. Catherine2

Author Information

1Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

2Physical Therapy Program, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

*Correspondence to: Yih-Kuen Jan, PhD, yjan@illinois.edu.

Abstract

Skeletal muscle oxygenation reflects the balance between oxygen delivery from the microcirculation and oxygen consumption of the muscle cells. Oxygenation in the muscle tissue is an essential factor in muscle contractions for performing activities of daily living and exercise as well as muscle tissue viability. It is until the development of near-infrared spectroscopy for providing a noninvasive, continuous monitoring of muscle oxygenation. The principle of near-infrared spectroscopy is to use light property to assess oxygenation based on the appearance of oxygenated blood in red and deoxygenated blood in darker red to black. To date, there is no comprehensive review focusing on muscle oxygenation regulation and its applications in physical therapy and rehabilitation. The objectives of this comprehensive review are to: 1) highlight the recent technical advances in near-infrared spectroscopytechnology for rehabilitation researchers, 2) present the advances in pathophysiological research in muscle oxygenation, and 3) evaluate findings and evidence of recent physical therapy and rehabilitation studies on improving muscle oxygenation. The review also evaluates findings and evidence of aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, contrast bath therapy, wound healing, cupping therapy, stretching, and electrical stimulation on muscle oxygen in healthy adults and patients with cardiovascular diseases. The use of near-infrared spectroscopy allows the assessment of muscle oxidative metabolism for personalized rehabilitation and exercise training.

摘要

骨骼肌氧合反映了微循环氧气输送与肌细胞耗氧量之间的平衡。肌肉组织中的氧合状态不仅是支撑日常活动与运动时肌肉收缩的关键因素，也直接关系到肌肉组织的活力。直至近红外光谱技术的问世，才实现了对肌肉氧合的无创、连续监测。该技术的原理是利用光学特性，依据氧合血呈现红色而脱氧血呈现暗红色至黑色的差异来评估氧合水平。目前，尚缺乏全面探讨肌肉氧合调节机制及其在物理治疗与康复中应用的综述。本综述旨在：1) 向康复研究人员介绍近红外光谱技术的最新进展；2) 阐述肌肉氧合病理生理学研究的新进展；3) 评估近期关于改善肌肉氧合的物理治疗与康复研究的结果与证据。本综述还评估了有氧运动、抗阻运动、冷热交替浸浴疗法、伤口愈合、拔罐疗法、拉伸以及电刺激对健康成人和心血管疾病患者肌肉氧合水平影响的研究结果。应用近红外光谱技术评估肌肉氧化代谢，可为制定个性化的康复方案和运动训练计划提供依据。