Treadmill Exercise Training
Objective: Assess effects of 5-week treadmill exercise training on pain sensitivity in rats with spinal nerve ligation
This is a Treadmill Exercise Training protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 8 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 3 materials. Extracted from a 2011 paper published in Anesthesiology.
Model and subjects
rat • Sprague-Dawley • male • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
~5 week study window
Core workflow
Baseline measurements • Spinal nerve ligation surgery • Randomization to groups
Primary readouts
- Paw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filaments (tactile sensitivity)
- Withdrawal latencies to noxious heat (thermal sensitivity)
- Opioid peptide levels (immunohistochemistry densitometry)
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
Confirm first
- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
- Check that every direct vendor link matches the exact specification your lab plans to run.
Use the page like this
- Work through the protocol steps in order and use the inline vendor chips only when you need to source or verify an item.
- Jump to Experimental Context for readouts, data shape, and analysis flow before planning downstream analysis.
Protocol Steps
Start here. The step list is optimized for running the experiment, with direct vendor links available inline when you need to source a cited item.
Baseline measurements
Obtain baseline measurements of pain sensitivity before intervention
Note: Performed prior to spinal nerve ligation and randomization
View evidence from paper
“After baseline measurements, the L5 and L6 spinal nerves of male Sprague-Dawley rats were tightly ligated”
Spinal nerve ligation surgery
Tightly ligate the L5 and L6 spinal nerves
Note: Surgical procedure to induce neuropathic pain model
View evidence from paper
“the L5 and L6 spinal nerves of male Sprague-Dawley rats were tightly ligated”
Randomization to groups
Randomize animals to either sedentary or 5-week treadmill exercise-trained groups
Note: Two experimental groups for comparison
View evidence from paper
“Animals were randomized to sedentary or 5-week treadmill exercise-trained groups”
Treadmill exercise training
Conduct 5-week treadmill exercise training for the exercise-trained group
Note: Sedentary group does not receive exercise training
View evidence from paper
“5-week treadmill exercise-trained groups”
Thermal sensitivity assessment
Measure withdrawal latencies to noxious heat 23 hours after exercise
Note: Conducted 23 hours post-exercise to assess thermal pain sensitivity
View evidence from paper
“Thermal and tactile sensitivities were assessed 23 hours after exercise, using paw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filaments and withdrawal latencies to noxious heat”
Tactile sensitivity assessment
Measure paw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filaments 23 hours after exercise
Note: Conducted 23 hours post-exercise to assess tactile pain sensitivity
View evidence from paper
“Thermal and tactile sensitivities were assessed 23 hours after exercise, using paw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filaments”
Opioid receptor antagonist administration
Administer opioid receptor antagonists via subcutaneous, intrathecal, or intracerebroventricular injection
Note: Multiple routes of administration used to assess opioid system involvement
View evidence from paper
“Opioid receptor antagonists were administered by subcutaneous, intrathecal, or intracerebroventricular injection”
Opioid peptide quantification
Quantify opioid peptides using immunohistochemistry with densitometry
Note: Biochemical analysis to assess opioid system changes
View evidence from paper
“Opioid peptides were quantified using immunohistochemistry with densitometry”