Table 3.

Studies on thermal therapy for muscle injury in animal models.

Reference	Injury type	Method of thermotherapy	Timing of thermotherapy	Effects in the thermotherapy compared with the injured without thermotherapy groups
Shibaguchi et al.21)	Bupivacaine-induced muscle injury	Hot water immersion 42 °C 30 min	Initiated 48 h after injury and continued every other day	Reduced the development of fibrosis Increased muscle mass, myofibrillar protein content, muscle fiber cross-sectional area, and expression of Pax-7-positive satellite cells and heat shock protein
Kojima et al.28)	Cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury	Whole-body heat stress 41 °C 60 min	Immediately after injury	Increased protein content, Pax-7-positive satellite cells, and heat shock protein 72
Oishi et al.29)	Bupivacaine-induced muscle injury	Hot water immersion 42±1 °C 30 min	Initiated 48 h after injury and continued every other day	Increased myonuclear number, numbers of Pax-7- and MyoD-positive satellite cells, and heat shock protein 72
Hatade et al.30)	Crush injury	Hot pack 42 °C 20 min	5 min after injury	Earlier expression of MyoD and myogenin protein
Takeuchi et al.31)	Crush injury	Hot pack 42 °C 20 min	5 min after injury	Increased muscle fiber cross sectional area Faster expression of ED1-positive macrophages Increased number of Pax-7-positive satellite cells Less collagen fiber area