Mechanotherapy
Mechanotherapy is a type of medical therapeutics in which treatment is given by manual or mechanical means. Mechanotherapy is a general term for physical therapy modalities that exploit mechanobiology principles for tissue rehabilitation and regeneration using the application of specific mechanical forces. The terms was defined in 1890 as “the employment of mechanical means for the cure of disease”. Mechanotherapy employs mechanotransduction to stimulate tissue repair and remodelling.
History
The American College of Mechano-Therapy operated in Chicago between roughly 1905 and 1920. It was founded by William C. Schulze, an 1897 graduate of Rush Medical College and practicing MD licensed in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Schulze was born in Germany in 1870. He incorporated the American College of Mechano-Therapy in 1907 and served as its president. Purporting to be the “largest eclectic school of drugless healing in the world,” the college offered a training course via correspondence. Though heavily criticized by the medical establishment, mechanical methods of healing nonetheless were increasingly popular in North America in the early part of the 20th century.The American College of Mechano-Therapy published several books, such as "Text-book of Osteopathy" or "Clinical Lectures on Mechano-therapy".
Exercise
Mechanotherapy is used as term for exercise prescription to promote healing and rehabilitation. Mechanotherapy is a useful term for exercise which is prescribed for rehabilitation because tissue repair is driven by the physiological process of mechanotransduction.Uses
Tendon
Tendon, as a tissue, is mechanoresponsive. Various academic studies show that tendons can respond well to controlled loading, post-injury. Loading of a tendon results in up regulation of insulin-like growth factor, in addition to other cytokines and growth factors. This up regulation results in proliferation at the cellular level and remodelling of the tendon matrix.Muscle
The clinical justification for the use of mechanotherapy in muscle injury is formed from initial animal studies. Generally, a rest period is undertaken to allow stabilisation of scar tissue, which is followed by controlled loading.Loading of muscle leads to up regulation of a number of load-induced pathways, including mechanogrowth factor. MGF expression results in activation of satellite cells and hypertrophy. Loading in this setting can increase rate and completeness of regeneration, improve myotubule alignment, and minimise myotubule atrophy.