PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Pressure sensing by muscles is a promising new target for treatments

Pressure sensing by muscles is a promising new target for treatments
2024-09-10
(Press-News.org) A new study from Umeå University, Sweden, shows that the body's muscles sense mechanical pressure. This new discovery has important implications for movement neuroscience and may improve the design of training and rehabilitation to relieve stiff muscles.

"The results provide an important piece of the puzzle in understanding what information our nervous system receives from muscles," says Michael Dimitriou, associate professor at the Department of Medical and Translational Biology, Umeå University and the researcher who led the study.

The study focuses on muscle spindles which are the main sensory receptors for proprioception. This is the ‘hidden sixth sense’ about the mechanical state of the body and is crucial for the proper control of movements. 

In the study, the researchers applied different levels of pressure on forearm muscles of awake volunteers, while recording signals from nerve fibers of muscle spindles located in the pressed muscle. When the participants' hands were still, the muscle spindles reacted strongly to muscle pressure, suggesting that pressure alone is a sufficient stimulus for these receptors.

The study also showed that when the hand was in motion, the pressure significantly enhanced the spindles' response to muscle stretch. This finding challenges the current understanding that muscle spindles only respond to stretch.

These discoveries could lead to significant advances in treating neuromuscular conditions, optimizing athletic training, and refining physical therapy techniques. For instance, better understanding of how muscle spindles detect pressure could provide new methods for managing muscle cramps or improving muscle recovery after injury.

The researchers also found that when they suddenly removed pressure from muscles, the activity of spindles dropped rapidly below normal levels. Because spindle signals reflexively increase muscle contraction and stiffness, weaker spindle signals are typically associated with less muscle stiffness. This finding led the researchers to propose the “triple-eight” technique for quickly relieving muscle stiffness.

It is well known that massage and trigger-point therapy can help alleviate muscle pain and stiffness. However, the underlying mechanisms have been unclear.

“If you don’t know why an effect happens, it is hard to optimize this effect. In our study, we show that applying local pressure for just eight seconds and then suddenly removing it leads to a strong inhibition of spindle activity, especially if this is done twice in a row”, says Michael Dimitriou.    

The ‘triple-eight’ technique involves using a small object or finger to apply low to moderate levels of pressure over a sore or stiff muscle area for eight seconds, releasing pressure for eight seconds, and reapplying pressure for another eight seconds, followed by a slow stretching of the relaxed muscle.

“Anyone can use the ‘triple-eight’ technique for quickly reducing muscle stiffness," says Michael Dimitriou.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Pressure sensing by muscles is a promising new target for treatments

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Women with asthma are more likely to miscarry and need fertility treatment

Women with asthma are more likely to miscarry and need fertility treatment
2024-09-10
Women who are being treated for asthma are more likely to miscarry and need fertility treatment to get pregnant, according to a large study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria [1]. However, the study also suggests that most women with asthma are able to have babies. The study was presented by Dr Anne Vejen Hansen from the department of respiratory medicine at Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. She said: “Asthma is common in women of reproductive age. Previous ...

MD Anderson Research Highlights Special Edition: ESMO 2024

2024-09-10
ABSTRACTS: 510MO, 618MO, 1821MO, 71MO, 995MO BARCELONA, Spain ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. This special edition features upcoming oral presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress focused on clinical advances across a variety of cancer types. In addition to the studies summarized below, forthcoming press releases will feature the following oral presentations: Initial results from a first-in-human ...

Appalachian State University chooses Figshare as its new institutional repository platform

Appalachian State University chooses Figshare as its new institutional repository platform
2024-09-10
Figshare, a leading provider of institutional repository infrastructure that supports open research, is pleased to announce that Appalachian State University has chosen Figshare as its new institutional repository platform to share, showcase and manage its research outputs. Appalachian State University (App State) – part of the University of North Carolina System – chose Figshare as its new repository platform to replace the NC DOCKS consortial repository, which was created in 2007 and is slated to shut down at the end of 2024. The team at App State wanted to ...

Drug treatment shows promise for dangerous snoring condition, obstructive sleep apnea

Drug treatment shows promise for dangerous snoring condition, obstructive sleep apnea
2024-09-10
Patients taking sulthiame, a drug currently in use for epilepsy, experienced a reduction in their symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), according to results of a clinical trial presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria [1].   Patients with OSA often snore loudly, their breathing starts and stops during the night, and they may wake up several times. Not only does this cause tiredness, but it can also increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. OSA is very common, but many people do not ...

Experimental blood test predicts risk for developing COPD, other severe respiratory diseases

2024-09-10
A scientific team supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has created a preclinical blood test to identify adults most likely to develop severe respiratory conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The blood test analyzes 32 proteins that scientists determined accurately predicted an adult with an increased likelihood for requiring medical care for or dying from severe respiratory illness. The risk score was based on lung health data collected from nearly 2,500 U.S. adults over a 30-year period. The findings were published ...

Girls may start puberty early due to chemical exposure

2024-09-10
WASHINGTON—Girls exposed to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be more likely to start puberty early, according to new research published in Endocrinology, the flagship basic science journal of the Endocrine Society. EDCs mimic, block or interfere with hormones in the body's endocrine system. There has been an alarming trend toward early puberty in girls, suggesting the influence of chemicals in our environment. Early puberty is associated with an increased risk of psychosocial problems, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer. “We conducted a comprehensive screen of 10,000 environmental compounds ...

Innovative delivery, access to care necessary to increase health equity for rural patients with heart disease

2024-09-10
The American College of Cardiology’s Quality Summit 2024 will feature several poster presentations regarding rural health delivery and access to care that offer insights into innovative strategies to increase health equity for all heart disease patients. Research examines door-in-door-out and door-to-balloon (D2B) times for heart attack patients at critical access hospitals, improving door-to-thrombolytics for heart attack patients at rural hospitals, remote cardiac rehabilitation to increase access, and improving communications technology for EMS with STEMI patients in rural areas. “Rurality creates unique challenges in delivering high quality cardiovascular ...

Study indicates delayed feedback enhances learning performance in individuals with traumatic brain injury

Study indicates delayed feedback enhances learning performance in individuals with traumatic brain injury
2024-09-10
East Hanover, NJ – September 10, 2024 – Kessler Foundation researchers have published a novel study exploring the effects of delayed feedback on learning in individuals with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The article, “Bypassing Striatal Learning Mechanisms Using Delayed Feedback to Circumvent Learning Deficits in Traumatic Brain Injury” (Doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000947), was published online ahead of print on July 24, 2024, in The Journal of Head Trauma ...

PLOS and DTH-Lab partner to increase youth participation in science

2024-09-10
San Francisco, California, United States - The Public Library of Science (PLOS) and the Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab) today announced a strategic partnership between the organizations to increase youth participation in science to include mentorship opportunities, amplifying youth voices in scientific publishing and building a body of research in digital health citizenship with a mini-collection.   “This strategic partnership with DTH-Lab will ensure that youth is empowered ...

What’s really ‘fueling’ harmful algae in Florida’s lake Okeechobee?

What’s really ‘fueling’ harmful algae in Florida’s lake Okeechobee?
2024-09-10
Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake in Florida and the second largest in the Southeastern United States. Over the past two decades, blooms of blue-green algae (Microcystis) have emerged in the lake and have been flushed into nearby urban estuaries, causing serious environmental and public health issues. Excess nutrients from industries, agriculture and urban development – particularly nitrogen and phosphorus – are well-known causes of harmful algal blooms worldwide. Historically, Lake Okeechobee has only been considered to be impaired for phosphorus, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain

ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

[Press-News.org] Pressure sensing by muscles is a promising new target for treatments