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Injury of skeletal muscle, and especially mechanically induced damage such as contusion injury, frequently occurs in contact sports, as well as in accidental contact sports, such as hockey and squash. The large variations with regard to injury severity and affected muscle group, as well as nonspecificity of reported symptoms, complicate research aimed at finding suitable treatments. Therefore, in order to increase the chances of finding a successful treatment, it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms inherent to this type of skeletal muscle injury and the cellular processes involved in muscle healing following a contusion injury.

Arguably the most important of these processes is inflammation since it is a consistent and lasting response. The inflammatory response is dependent on two factors, namely the extent of actual physical damage and the degree of muscle vascularization at the time …