Background: Increased anterior pelvic tilt is one important contributor to poor posture in children and adolescents and caused by muscular imbalance. This study aims at identifying the extent to which a sensorimotor training reduces anterior pelvic tilt more effectively than pure strength and stretch training alone. Methods: 54 male adolescents (age 13–17) with an increased pelvic tilt angle >1...

The growth-promoting effect of mechanical stress on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) has been implicated in the progress of vascular disease in hypertension. Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) have been implicated in cellular responses, such as vascular remodeling, induced by mechanical stretch. However, it remains to be determined how mechanical stretch activates ERKs. The cytos...

Current approaches to assess interoception of respiratory functions cannot differentiate between the physiological basis of interoception, i.e. visceral-afferent signal processing, and the psychological process of attention focusing. Furthermore, they typically involve invasive procedures, e.g. induction of respiratory occlusions or the inhalation of CO2-enriched air. The aim of this study was ...

Dynamic mechanical input is believed to play a critical role in the development of functional musculoskeletal tissues. To study this phenomenon, cyclic uniaxial mechanical stretch was applied to engineered ligaments using a custom-built bioreactor and the effects of different stretch frequency, amplitude, and duration were determined. Stretch acutely increased the phosphorylation of p38 (3.5±0....