As we age, we generally experience a progressive decline in the ability to use our arms and hands for normal daily activities such as using cutlery to cut food, brushing our teeth and buttoning up a shirt (Shumway-Cook & Woollacott, 2016). The ability to complete everyday activities with our upper […]
Walking is regulated and coordinated through complex control mechanisms within the human sensory motor system, allowing individuals to adapt to both internal and external challenges and perturbations (Full et al., 2002). During this regulation to achieve stable walking, natural fluctuations (i.e. movement variability) are present between strides in both the […]
Our ability to sense the position of our body, known as proprioception, is fundamental for controlling how we move and interact during daily activities (Proske and Gandevia, 2012). People who have persistent pain (i.e., pain that lasts for more than three months) find it difficult to sense the position of […]
Pain is one of the most troubling impairments of Parkinson’s disease, with up to 85% of people affected (Broen et al., 2012). While exercise has many benefits in assisting people with Parkinson’s disease to optimise their health, balance, strength and mobility, there is limited research exploring the benefits of exercise […]
Exercise-induced hypoalgesia is a reduction in pain that occurs during or following a single bout of exercise (Naugle et al, 2012). When researchers test exercise-induced hypoalgesia, they briefly induce painful stimuli to research participants to see if pain sensitivity changes after exercise. Different types of painful stimuli have been used […]
Over the past 4.5 years, researchers from all over the world have written non-technical summaries on their research for the Motor Impairment Blog. Consequently, the Blog contains a rich archive of information on topics such as muscle strength and weakness, falls and balance, sensation, pain, motor control, and research methods. […]
People with pain move differently. Why is this the case? Prof Paul Hodges talks about his research on muscle adaptations in people with pain.
In people with chronic pain, the interactions between exercise and pain are complex. On one hand, regular exercise may be one of the most effective treatments because it consistently improves pain, function and quality of life (Geneen et al., 2017). On the other hand, a single session of exercise, such […]
If someone has suffered a leg injury in the past, they are at an increased risk of having that particular injury again in the future (Murphy et al. 2003). Oftentimes, this second injury is worse than the first. Knowing this, physiotherapists often design rehabilitation programs that target that particular body […]
Musculoskeletal pain is the most common cause of disability globally (Vos et al. 2013). It is managed in primary care by a plethora of treatment options, such as self-management advice and education, analgesics, corticosteroid injections, exercise therapy, complementary therapies, and psychosocial interventions. Research suggests that localised musculoskeletal pain frequently coexists in more […]
