Satellite cells are tissue resident muscle stem cells required for postnatal skeletal muscle growth and repair through replacement of damaged myofibers. Muscle regeneration is coordinated through different mechanisms, which imply cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions as well as extracellular secreted factors. Cellular dynamics during muscle regeneration are highly complex. Immune, fibrotic, vascular and myogenic cells appear with distinct temporal and spatial kinetics after muscle injury. Three main phases have been identified in the process of muscle regeneration; a destruction phase with the initial inflammatory response, a regeneration phase with activation and proliferation of satellite cells and a remodeling phase with maturation of the regenerated myofibers. Whereas relatively minor muscle injuries, such as strains, heal spontaneously, severe muscle injuries form fibrotic tissue that impairs muscle function and lead to muscle contracture and chronic pain. Current therapeutic approaches have limited effectiveness and optimal strategies for such lesions are not known yet. Various strategies, including growth factors injections, transplantation of muscle stem cells in combination or not with biological scaffolds, anti-fibrotic therapies and mechanical stimulation, may become therapeutic alternatives to improve functional muscle recovery.
Recovery Strategies for Athletes: Techniques for Muscle Repair
Key concepts in muscle regeneration: muscle “cellular ecology” integrates a gestalt of cellular cross-talk, motility, and activity to remodel structure and restore function
Vascular regeneration and skeletal muscle repair induced by long-term exposure to SDF-1α derived from engineered mesenchymal stem cells after hindlimb ischemia
Muscle injuries and strategies for improving their repair
Brachioradialis Muscle Injuries - Strategies for Successful Recovery
Hamstring Muscle Injuries - OrthoInfo - AAOS
Muscle Injuries - Physiopedia
Muscle Injuries: Regeneration Strategies - Physiopedia
Muscle Repair - Physiopedia
