Therapeutic evaluation of acupoint stimulation with needle-scapelon on rat model of degenerative cervical intervertebral discs

Abstract Cervical spondylosis (CS), which is resulted from degeneration of cervical intervertebral disc, is a common disease seriously threatening human health and quality of life. However, there is still no effective clinic strategies for the treatment of this disease. The acupoint stimulation with needle-scalpel is a widely used approach to treat orthopedic diseases. In the present study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of acupoint stimulation around neck with needle-scalpel on delaying the degeneration of cervical intervertebral discs and hopefully provided an approach for the precaution and early intervention of CS. We firstly established a rat model of CS by cervical static-dynamic imbalance to mimics disc degeneration and then stimulated the acupoints around neck with needle-scalpel. The cervical intervertebral disc samples were collected to measure type I and II collagen by quantitative PCR (qPCR), immunohistochemistry, and western blot. The changes in micro-structure and ultra-structure of nucleus pulposus were analyzed under the optical microscope and electron microscope respectively. Acupoint stimulation with needle-scapelon increased type I collagen production and decreased type II collagen production, and improved the micro-structure and ultra-structure of nucleus pulposus. Our results suggest that acupoint stimulation around neck with needle-scapelon could inhibit intervertebral disc degeneration through modulating the extracellular matrix collagen system and improving the changed structure of nucleus pulposus.