Muscle hematomas can exacerbate inflammation, delay healing, and reduce function after muscle injury. This study examined whether early hematoma removal promoted recovery in a rat model of tibialis anterior muscle laceration. Hematomas were surgically removed 6 h after injury and compared with untreated animals. Histological analysis revealed that the hematoma removal group had a significantly reduced hematoma size 24 h after injury and a significantly reduced abnormal tissue area on days 3 and 14. Furthermore, the hematoma removal group demonstrated better muscle strength recovery at 3, 14, and 28 days post-injury. Gene expression analysis of the injured muscle tissue revealed that the expression levels of several genes related to inflammation and inflammatory pain (IL-6, IL-10, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-1Ra, COX-1, COX-2, NGF) and macrophage marker molecules (CD68, ADGRE1, CD206, Arg1) during the acute phase were significantly lower in the hematoma removal group compared to the control group. No significant differences were observed in the transcription levels of the genes related to myogenic differentiation. In summary, early surgical hematoma removal in a rat laceration model reduced inflammation and abnormal tissue volume and promoted muscle strength recovery. This study provides new evidence suggesting that early hematoma removal after skeletal muscle injury is beneficial.
