Animal experiments suggest that an increase in sympathetic outflow can depress muscle spindle sensitivity and thus modulate the stretch reflex response. The results are, however, controversial, and human studies have failed to demonstrate a direct influence of the sympathetic nervous system on the sensitivity of muscle spindles. We studied the effect of increased sympathetic outflow on the shor...

Mechanical stretch in obstruction induces expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in gut smooth muscle cells (SMCs). The stretch-induced COX-2 plays a critical role in motility dysfunction in obstructive bowel disorders (OBDs). The aims of the present study were to investigate the intracellular mechanism of mechanotranscription of COX-2 in colonic SMCs and to determine whether inhibition of mech...

The static and dynamic components of the tonic stretch reflex and shortening reactions have been studied in biceps brachii, triceps, hamstrings, and quadriceps muscles of 19 patients with Parkinson's disease before and during L-dopa therapy. Clinical improvement during L-dopa administration correlated with a reduction in the dynamic component of the tonic stretch reflex in biceps, triceps, and ...

Descending mid-thoracic aortas were obtained from 16 autopsies and biaxial inflation tests performed on the tissue at dynamic (approximately 20 s-1) and quasi-static (approximately 0.01 s-1) strain rates. A bubble inflation technique was developed for this purpose. Extension histories of the specimens were recorded photographically and values of ultimate stresses and extension ratios in biaxial...

In Brief: Stretching recommendations are clouded by misconceptions and conflicting research reports. This review of the current literature on stretching and range-of-motion increases finds that one static stretch of 15 to 30 seconds per day is sufficient for most patients, but some require longer durations. Heat and ice improve the effectiveness of static stretching only if applied during the s...

Although the effects of mechanical stimuli have been studied extensively in fully differentiated skeletal muscle and have been shown to promote changes in phenotype, including altered myosin heavy chain isoform expression, the effects of a change in mechanical environment have been poorly studied at earlier stages of skeletal muscle differentiation. In particular, the early events elicited by m...

The effects of static and dynamic passive stretch and shortening on electrical activity and active force were analyzed in the isolated rat portal vein. Static stretch by 40% of muscle length evoked moderate excitatory effects with enhanced mechanical activity and an average increase in spike discharge of 12% above the control value of 55 plus or minus 2.6 spikes/min. The dynamic responses studi...

In thirteen cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose, we compared the cardiovascular and ventilatory responses to both static contraction and tendon stretch of a hindlimb muscle group, the triceps surae, with those to contraction and stretch of a forelimb muscle group, the triceps brachii. Static contraction and stretch of both muscle groups increased mean arterial pressure and heart rate, and t...

Although the effects of mechanical stimuli have been extensively studied in fully differentiated skeletal muscle and have been shown to promote changes in phenotype, including altered myosin heavy chain isoforms expression, the effects of a change in mechanical environment have been poorly studied at earlier stages of skeletal muscle differentiation. In particular the early events elicited by m...