Microtrauma to Rat Superficial Masseter Muscles Following Lengthening Contractions

Repetitive lengthening contractions have been predicted as a mechanism causing injury, pain, and delayed soreness in the hyperactive masticatory muscle. This mechanism was examined by the mechanical lengthening of the contracted superficial masseter (SM) muscle in anesthetized rats. Repetitive stimulation of the left SM to tetanic tension was followed by mechanical lengthening, which stressed contracted muscle. The contralateral muscle was passively lengthened repetitively. Contractile tension in response to a varying frequency of stimulation was measured in pre- and post-lengthened SM muscles. A selective loss of force at all frequencies up to 100 Hz occurred in the muscles subjected to lengthening contractions. Low-frequency fatigue did not occur in SM muscles passively lengthened. All animals recovered without loss of weight or dehydration. They were killed at 24 or 72 h post-lengthening. The SM muscles were collected, and no significant differences were found in mean weight, length, or cross-sectional area when the right and left SM muscles were compared at 24 or 72 h. Two observers independently examined histological sections of SM muscles and graded the localized inflammatory sites on a scale of 1-4. A non-parametric statistical test was used so that the inflammatory scale for each muscle could be ranked. There were significantly more injured sites in SM muscles subjected to lengthening contractions, compared with the lengthened (but relaxed) SM muscles. The SM muscles of anesthetized rats were internally injured by repetitive lengthening contractions, and they exhibited low-frequency fatigue. These findings support the hypothesis that repetitive lengthening contractions in the masticatory muscle could be a mechanism for the pain and dysfunction of masticatory muscles in humans with certain parafunctional habits.