Study on massage-evoked potentiogram from somatic nerves and analysis on the involvement of its afferent fibers

Abstract

The experiments were applied on 66 rabbits. While massage was applied on six acupoints, such as Heyang (UB 55), Xiguan (Liv 7), and others on legs with the manipulations of finger pressure and finger kneading, the massage-evoked potentiogram on the nerve cutaneus posterior femoralis and the nerve gastrocnemius medialis were obtained. The massage-evoked potentiogram synchronized with massage evoked impulses and varied with different manipulations. All four groups of afferent fibers contained in nerve cutaneous posterior femoralis and nerve gastrocnemius medialis were involved in conducting the impulses caused by the two manipulations. These results indicate that the massage manipulations have regular influence on the activities of both the sensitive tissues in acupoints and the somatic afferent nerves. Therefore, the results will scientifically enrich the application of massotherapy as far as manipulations are concerned. Furthermore, the results suggest vast vistas for the systematical study of the mechanism of massage from the neurobiological view-point.