The Role of GenuTrain in the Management of Knee Pain

1 [email protected] 09/11/2009 Rotating a joint stretches the soft tissues on one side of the joint and relaxes them on the other side. All the soft tissues around joints contain mechanoceptors neurons that are activated by stretch. Thus stretch responses of mechanoceptors potentially contain information about joint displacement or movements, and are therefore of interest to study motor control. Neurophysiological evidence that afferent information from skin receptors was important for proprioception was gathered first by experiments relating to the human hand and finger joints. (Responses to passive movement of receptor in joint, skin and muscle of the human hand – Bubrke D. Gandevia SC. Macefield G. – Journal of Physiology. 1988; 402:347-361). Edin however, confirmed that receptors in the hairy skin of humans can provide very reliable information about knee joint movements too. (Cutaneous afferents provide information about knee joint movements in humans Benoni B Edin – J Physiol. – 2001 Feb 15; 531 (pt 1): 289-297 ). This study was followed by others confirming that cutaneous receptors contribute to kinesthesia in all joints. Herewith, former clinical experiences about the contribution of taping and bracing to the stability of large joints -such as knee and anklecould be experimentally explained and confirmed. Though taping and braces did not make any mechanical contribution to stability they improved conscious proprioceptive acuity and reduced subjective instability complaints.