Fig. 2

Weight-bearing impairment 14 and 28 days after spinal nerve ligation. Bar histograms show the percentage of animal weight (expressed as percentage of naïve values) distributed on the ipsilateral (A1 and A2) and contralateral (B1 and B2) hind paws as well as the ipsilateral (C1 and C2) and contralateral (D1 and D2) front paws in naïve, sham, and SNL rats at D14 (A1, B1, C1 and D1) and D28 (A2, B2, C2 and D2). The percentage of the animal weight borne on the ipsilateral hind paw in SNL animals was significantly decreased at D14 (A1: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 35.73, p < 0.0001) and D28 (A2: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 28.87, p < 0.0001) compared to sham and naïve rats while the percentage of the animal weight borne on the ipsilateral front paw was significantly increased at D14 (C1: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 27.89, p < 0.0001) and D28 (C2: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 9.832, p = 0.0073) compared to sham and naïve rats. The percentage of the animal weight borne on the contralateral hind paw in SNL animals was significantly increased at D14 and D28 (B1: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 7.449, p = 0.0241; B2: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 8.024, p = 0.0181) compared to naïve animals. This was also true for the contralateral front paw (D1: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 14.39, p = 0.0007; D2: Kruskal-Wallis test H(2) = 6.682, p = 0.03). In addition, the percentage of the animal weight borne on the contralateral hind paw in SNL animals was also significantly increased at D14 compared to naïve animals. Post hoc test (Dunn’s multiple comparison test): *p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001