Musculoskeletal Function and Exercise Physiology: Integrative Approaches and Emerging Insights

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to introduce the Special Issue titled “Musculoskeletal Function and Exercise Physiology: Integrative Approaches and Emerging Insights.” This Special Issue emphasizes the application of novel and integrative approaches for assessing musculoskeletal function (MSF) across various conditions, settings, and exercise modalities.

Musculoskeletal function refers to the activation of skeletal muscle via neural input, resulting in muscle contraction, force generation, and the movement of the skeletal system. Musculoskeletal function is influenced by neuromuscular, biochemical, morphological, and biomechanical factors, including motor unit behavior, signaling pathways, muscle architecture, tendon elasticity, and joint mechanics. Thus, the study of MSF involves an interdisciplinary approach that integrates aspects of engineering, chemistry, physics, anatomy, and physiology. To evaluate MSF, researchers often employ multiple techniques such as electromyography, isokinetic testing, biomechanical analyses, histological analyses, and advanced imaging techniques (e.g., ultrasound, CT, MRI). Collectively, these methods provide a comprehensive understanding of how the nervous, endocrine, and musculoskeletal systems interact to produce movement, allowing researchers to link underlying neurophysiological mechanisms with functional performance.

In this Special Issue, we invite original research and review articles that enhance our current understanding of MSF across multiple domains of exercise physiology. We particularly encourage submissions that incorporate emerging technologies, modeling and computational analyses, or interdisciplinary approaches to examine the underlying mechanisms of MSF. Specifically, we welcome investigations on topics ranging from molecular and neural processes to whole-body biomechanics. Studies examining MSF in healthy, clinical, and athletic populations, across various exercise modalities, and over different time frames are encouraged. Taken together, this Special Issue aims to highlight integrative perspectives on how musculoskeletal structure and function respond and adapt to exercise, mechanical loading, and movement, including how they are affected by disease and disorder.

Dr. Robert Smith
Dr. Tyler Neltner
Dr. Dimitrije Cabarkapa
Dr. Luke Chowning
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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