OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of manual acupuncture (MA) and electroacupuncture (EA) on Ca2+ content and Ca2+ -ATPase activity in sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle cells in rats of acute swimming exercise (ASE) so as to reveal its underlying mechanism in strengthening motor abilities. METHODS: Sixty male SD rats were randomly divided into control, model, MA and EA groups, with 15 cases in each. Rats in MA group and EA group were treated respectively with MA (120-140 twirlings/min, 30-60 s/time every 3-5 min) and EA (500-800 Hz, 0.20-0.25 mA) stimulation of "Dazhui" (GV 14), "Mingmen" (GV 4), "Huantiao" (GB 30) and "Zusanli" (ST 36) for 20 min before ASE. After ASE (120 min), the rats anesthetized with urethane (1 g/kg) were killed for sampling skeletal muscles (quadriceps muscle of thigh) and for detecting Ca2+ content and Ca2+ -ATPase activity with thymol blue chromatometry and chemical chromatometry respectively. Results In comparison with control group, Ca2+ content and Ca2+ -ATPase activity in sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle cells in model group were obviously lower (P < 0.01, 0.05); while compared with model group, both Ca2+ content and Ca2+ -ATPase activity in sarcoplasmic reticulum in MA and EA groups increased significantly (P < 0.01). The activity of Ca2+ -ATPase of MA group was evidently higher than that of control group (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found between MA and EA groups in Ca2+ content and Ca2+ -ATPase activity (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Both MA and EA can increase Ca2+ -ATPase activity and Ca2+ content in sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle cells in motor fatigue rats, which may contribute to their effects in strengthening motor ability.