Yearly Archives: 2014


2014 year in review – diseases, disorders and disabilities

There have been many important ‘D’iscoveries in 2014 Here we highlight some messages from 2014 from the Motor Impairment team.  They focus on some major diseases, disorders and disabilities.  In the coming days we will post additional highlights from 2014 dealing with other aspects of Motor Impairment and motor performance.  […]


More pain, less gain: Can painful, fatiguing exercise of one muscle impair the exercise performance of its neighbours?

We have all experienced the effects of muscle fatigue. Whether carrying groceries or luggage that extra bit further, playing sport or hitting it hard at the gym. For people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, congestive heart failure, or peripheral vascular disease just going to collect the mail can be […]


Aerobic exercise training increases pain tolerance

It is well demonstrated that a single bout of exercise can cause short-term reductions in pain, a phenomenon referred to as exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) (Naugle et al. 2012). However, the effect of chronic exercise training on pain is less clear, as are the mechanisms that mediate EIH. A greater understanding […]


How can you make your muscle grow longer? 1

Across the animal kingdom, muscles adapt to the exercise that they perform.  They can do this by changing their intrinsic capacity to generate force as well as changing their actual size, both the cross-sectional area of the muscle and the length of the muscle (e.g. Goldspink, 1985; Lynn & Morgan, […]


Interview with Professor Stephen Lord

Professor Lord’s research aims to enhance understanding of human balance and involves investigations of sensory and motor contributions, behavioural influences, environmental factors, as well as clinical populations and settings. Current studies are designed to investigate the physiology and biomechanics of standing, walking and stepping reactions. Fall risk factors and strategies […]


Ultrasound imaging of tongue muscle movement

The human upper airway has many important physiological functions including speech, swallowing and breathing.  The human tongue forms an important part of the upper airway. It is made up of different muscles with origins both within and external to the tongue.  Among these, the genioglossus (GG) is the largest dilator […]


Interview with Professor Rob Herbert 1

Professor Herbert’s research examines the mechanisms of contracture in human muscles using novel biomechanical methods. He also conducts epidemiological studies to quantify the prevalence and incidence of contracture, predict people who are most likely to develop contracture, and we conduct clinical trials to investigate the effectiveness of interventions designed to […]