Investigation of the efficacy of leech therapy (hirudotherapy) in the acute muscle strain model on rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of leech therapy (hirudotherapy) in the acute muscle strain model created in rats. 24 female Wistar albino rats were used in the study. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee of the relevant experimental animal center. All the animals were fed standard pellet feed and given access to tap water. The animals used in the study were divided into four groups: Group 1: Control (C); The rats in this group did not receive any treatment or application. Group 2: Strain (S); Only strain injuries were created in the rats in this group. However, no treatment was applied. Group 3: Strain+diclofenac (SD); Strain injury model was created in this group of rats and two doses of 0.1 cc diclofenac were injected intraperitoneally at 24-hour intervals. Group 4: Strain+leech (SS); Strain injury model was created in the rats in this group and two doses of 0.5 cc leech secretion were injected at 24-hour intervals. The strain injury model was created by attaching free weights to the right hind legs of the rats, as reported in the literature. At the end of 72 hours of application, all animals were sacrificed under general anesthesia and blood and muscle tissue samples were taken. The blood samples taken were analyzed in terms of CK, LDH and TNF-α parameters. Tibialis anterior muscle tissue samples taken from the right hind legs of the animals were stained with the hematoxylin-eosin staining method and their photos were taken under a light microscope and histopathological evaluation was made. In this study, the effectiveness of hirudotherapy as a treatment approach in the strain model created in Wistar albino rats was investigated and compared with diclofenac treatment. In our study, we have obtained findings that intraperitoneally applied leech secretion has a similar therapeutic effect with diclofenac treatment applied in the same way in muscle strain injury, and it has been shown that it has no side effects within the analyzed parameters. As a result, it is thought that hirudotherapy has the potential to be a treatment method alone or as a complementary treatment for muscle injuries.