Musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, lower back pain and fibromyalgia are the most common causes for utilizing healthcare resources, and are amongst the world’s leading causes of chronic pain, disability and reduced health-related quality of life (Escorpizo et al, 2009). These conditions also account for approximately 7% of total disability […]
Inputs from specialised cutaneous and muscle afferents are crucial for tactile manipulation and accurate movement and postural control. Both sets of afferents project to the cerebral cortex and contribute to proprioceptive senses (e.g. Proske & Gandevia, 2012). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the cortical activation produced by cutaneous […]
When we are touched on the skin, sensory receptors in that location fire and send a signal via nerves to the brain, but this is not enough to let us know where on our body the touch occurred. To decipher where the touch is on the body, the brain needs […]
People with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) often report fatigue and reduced capacity for walking as some of their most disabling symptoms (1-3). Indeed, fatigue is often reported after relatively short bouts of walking. However, the functional consequences of this fatigue are not well known. We were interested in how walking might […]
Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common disorder which is linked to increased incidence of stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure (for review see Jordan et al 2014). However, the fundamental neuromotor control of the upper airway is poorly understood, perhaps because of its structural and neural complexity. Recently a series […]
Similar to a pencil balanced on a finger tip, the standing human body is inherently unstable (Loram & Lakie, 2002). The vertical projection of the body’s center of mass passes in front of the ankle when we stand, which means active plantar flexion of the ankle is required to maintain […]
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful condition that can substantially interfere with peoples’ daily activities. It will affect one in two people over their lifetime and is more likely in people who are overweight (Murphy et al., 2008). In light of the existing literature regarding joint function in people with […]
Up to one in three people over 65 fall each year (Masud & Morris, 2001) and many older people have impaired dynamic stability. However, a cause and effect relationship between gait speed, step variability, dynamic stability, and falls is complex. For example, older people may walk more slowly to compensate […]
Understanding the mechanisms of fatigue provides insight into the limits of human exercise performance and diseases in which fatigue is a symptom that limits activity. Both peripheral and central mechanisms contribute to muscle fatigue. Central fatigue is defined as a progressive exercise-induced reduction in the ability to voluntarily activate a […]
Joint contractures, usually defined as limited passive range of joint motion, are common in people with neurological conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis (MS). To date, there are no studies of the incidence and prevalence of contracture in a population with MS. A recent systematic review […]
