ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Integrative Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1640735
This article is part of the Research TopicPain Physiology: Innovative Methods and Technologies to Assess and Treat Chronic PainView all articles
Fu's subcutaneous needling facilitates muscle repair by regulating mitochondrial homeostasis in rat with chronic peripheral nervous pain
Provisionally accepted
Po-En Chiu1
Zhonghua Fu2
Hung-Chuan Pan3
Yi-Ching Tsai1Chia-Yun Tsai3Wei-Jen Hsu3
Li-Wei Chou4*
De-Wei Lai3*- 1Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Lugang, Taiwan
- 2Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
- 3Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- 4China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
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Sciatica, often resulting from lumbar disc herniation or nerve compression, disrupts electrical signal transmission, leading to muscle atrophy, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired energy metabolism.This study explored the therapeutic effects of Fu's subcutaneous needling (FSN) in a chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model, assessing its impact on neuropathic pain, muscle mass, and structural integrity. Histological and ultrastructural analyses demonstrated that FSN alleviated hypersensitivity, reduced muscle atrophy, preserved mitochondrial density, and maintained glycogen storage. Gene expression and pathway enrichment analyses revealed FSN's involvement in PI3K-Akt, MAPK signaling, oxidative phosphorylation, and mitophagy, suggesting its role in modulating energy metabolism and cellular repair. FSN also normalized energy-related proteins FGFR1, FGFR3 and phosphorylated FOXO3, highlighting their significance in muscle repair and regeneration. These findings provide novel insights into FSN's potential for counteracting neuropathy-induced muscle damage and improving mitochondrial function, supporting its clinical application. Additionally, FSN's role in muscle repair suggests a connection between growth factor signaling and nerve regeneration, offering a foundation for future research on muscle-neural recovery mechanisms.
Keywords: Fu's Subcutaneous Needling, chronic constriction injury, Vastus lateralis, Gastrocnemius muscles, mitophagy
Received: 04 Jun 2025; Accepted: 29 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chiu, Fu, Pan, Tsai, Tsai, Hsu, Chou and Lai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Li-Wei Chou, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
De-Wei Lai, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
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