The evaluation of a combined ceramic material-based therapy in the musculoskeletal disorders: Morphological analysis by micro-CT

With the average life expectancy for humans reaching 100 years, interest in the healthy life of the elderly has also increased. Musculoskeletal disorders are among the most common problems affecting the elderly. In this point of view, we inevitably need to investigate a way to prevent bone loss and muscle atrophy. Of the various approaches to accelerate the treatment of bone loss and muscle atrophy, recently, ceramic material-based therapies have been widely used since it is one of the most feasible ways to adopt safely and effectively. It is generally accepted that far infrared radiation(FIR) emitted from ceramic materials could slow bone loss and promote improvement of muscle atrophy. In this study, we tried to suggest a simple and low-cost approach for FIR stimulation by using a combined ceramic material, named tourmanium (TM). TM is composed of tourmaline, germanium, volcanic rock and eleven, which has an outstanding emittance of FIR. 14 male C57BL/6 mice (12-week-old) were used to compare the effects with the stimulation of tourmanium (TM group) or without the stimulation of tourmanium (CON group). Both groups underwent sciatic neurectomy (denervation) on the right hind-limb to simulate the musculoskeletal disorder including bone loss and muscle atrophy. The treatment with TM was performed daily, for a total of 4 weeks (experimental temperature: 37°C, duration time: 20 min). As a result, the normalized values of changes in bone quality due to TM treatment shows a significant increase in bone quality in TM group compared to it of CON group (^∗∗p < 0.005). Similarly, the total volume of muscle in TM group was also significantly higher than that of CON group (^∗p < 0.05). Based on the results, it could be suggested that tourmanium(TM) could effectively prevent bone loss and muscle atrophy induced by denervation.