Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences Study Section – MRS

Topics

• Rehabilitation and fall prevention strategies related to neural control in musculoskeletal disabilities including stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, and traumatic brain injury.
• Rehabilitation strategies related to impaired musculoskeletal function, e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive stress injuries, and low back pain.
• Rehabilitation strategies following orthopedic surgery such as knee, hip, and shoulder replacement, anterior crucial ligament reconstruction, etc.
• Studies of gait and movement involving kinematics and neural control of movement and function in health, injury, and disease, including limb loss/amputation, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
• Robotic interventions to restore musculoskeletal function.
• Application of imaging technologies (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, ultrasound) and computational modeling to assess impaired musculoskeletal function.
• Biomechanics of skeletal muscle, bone and joints in the context of rehabilitation interventions.
• Use of alternative therapies such as massage, tai chi, etc. in the treatment of physical impairments.

Shared Interests and Overlaps

There are shared interests with Skeletal Muscle Biology and Exercise Physiology [SMEP] in the investigation of muscle function and exercise. Grant applications that focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms of muscle function and related animal models may be assigned to SMEP. Applications that focus on rehabilitation interventions to improve muscle function, increase muscle mass, or identify muscles responsible to functional decline may be assigned to MRS.

There are shared interests with Skeletal Biology Structure and Regeneration [SBSR] in the areas of biomechanics and kinematics aspects of joint movement, as well as identification of imaging biomarkers for musculoskeletal diseases. The applications focusing on animal models to evaluate the efficacy and functional outcomes of cell- and molecular-based therapies on joint movement and to identify biological markers for bone and joint diseases are assigned to [SBSR]. Applications that focus on modeling and rehabilitative therapeutic interventions to improve spine and joint function, and biomechanics may be assigned to MRS.

There are shared interests with Motor Function, Speech and Rehabilitation [MFSR] in the investigation of preventive and therapeutic interventions for movement, and normal and disordered motor function. Grant applications that focus on speech and voice production and function across the lifespan, associated behavioral, anatomical, physiological, neural, hormonal, and genetic factors, swallowing, facial and related movement, acoustic and perceptual aspects of sound production, and related adaptive technologies and prosthetics may be assigned to MFSR. Applications that focus on motor control of extremities in humans, body posture balance, locomotion, movement disorders [including motor dyskinesia, paralysis, parkinsonism, repetitive stress injury, spasticity, tremor], physical rehabilitation following disease or injury and related exercise may be assigned to MRS.

There are shared interests in age-related changes on human mobility and exercise with aging with Aging Systems and Geriatrics (ASG). Applications that emphasize rehabilitative interventions aiming to improve motor performance, balance, and mobility in elderly people, including mobility support devices are reviewed in MRS. Applications that emphasize motor performance, balance, and mobility as effects of geriatric syndromes, including multi- morbidity and polypharmacy are reviewed in ASG as well as applications that emphasize pleiotropic interventions that include mobility and exercise (etc.) as outcomes. 

There are shared interests with Sensory-Motor Neuroscience Study Section [SMN] in the investigation of posture and balance. Grant applications addressing neural or biomechanical aspects of posture and balance, especially if designed to study the motor control principles, may be assigned to SMN. Applications that focus on rehabilitation of body posture balance, locomotion and movement disorders may be assigned to MRS.