Curcumin-Loaded Nanocomposite Hydrogel Augments Functional Muscle Recovery and Shows Synergistic Effects with Post-Injury Treadmill Exercise in a Muscle Injury Model in Rats: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study

Abstract

Herein, the synergistic healing activity of treadmill exercise and curcumin-delivering hydrogel was evaluated in a rat model of skeletal muscle injury. In Vitro experiments were utilized to characterize the filler material and the healing potential of the treatment strategy was investigated in a rat model of anterior tibialis muscle injury. Study showed excellent biocompatibility of the hydrogel system. In Vivo study showed that the developed hydrogel and treadmill sport regimen significantly augmented muscle function recovery as evidenced by histopathological analysis. Gene expression studies showed that tissue expression levels of NFK-B and collagen type 1 genes were significantly downregulated in the animals treated with curcumin-loaded hydrogels with and without exercise.