Fig. 4

Structural recovery aided by passive stretch after muscle injury induced by LC. Muscle stretch was performed in a single 15-min bout at 1 day after LC. Rats exposed to LC were divided into two groups as described in the caption to Fig. 3 (LC-alone vs. LC+Stretch). A control group (described in Fig. 3 caption) was also included (Control). a–c Photomicrographs of the mid-belly of the TA in the Control (a), LC-alone (b), and LC+Stretch (c) groups. The membrane of the myofibers is labeled with anti-dystrophin antibody. d Cross-sectional area (CSA) of the TA at 21 days after LC appears to be significantly smaller in the LC-alone group than in the Control and LC+Stretch groups, for which cross-sectional areas are comparable. Significance at *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01 by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test; n.s. not significant