Effects of a calcium channel blocker on electrical activity in myofascial trigger spots of rabbits

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of a calcium channel blocking agent, verapamil, on the spontaneous electrical activity (SEA) in a myofascial trigger spot of biceps femoris muscles of rabbits. DESIGN: Left and right legs of eight adult New Zealand rabbits were randomly assigned into either experimental or control groups to assess the effect of verapamil on SEA. Verapamil and normal saline were injected into the external iliac artery for experimental and control groups, respectively. The experiment was divided into two phases: Phase A investigated the immediate effect of verapamil on SEA of one active locus, and phase B studied the effect of verapamil on SEA of 25 different active loci. The average integrated value of SEA was used to statistically analyze the effect of verapamil on myofascial trigger-spot sensitivity. RESULTS: In phase A, conducted on one active locus, the regression analysis results showed that the average integrated value in the verapamil group linearly decreased with time, but the average integrated value did not significantly change with time in the control group. In phase B, which analyzed 25 different active loci, the results indicated that the mean average integrated values in the verapamil group was significantly lower than that of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Calcium channel blockers can effectively inhibit the SEA of myofascial trigger spots.