Mechanotherapy can be broadly defined as any intervention that utilizes mechanical stimuli to induce a biological change via mechano-transduction processes with the goal of improving function and Soft Tissue Manipulation (STM) is a potent and direct form of mechanotherapy with important implications in physical rehabilitation, disease prevention, and health promotion. STM, also known as therapeutic massage, is a type of manual therapy that is commonly used by clinicians around the world to treat common musculoskeletal pain disorders. Numerous devices for manipulating muscle tissue have been developed for clinical use, and pneumatic compression devices are already available and widely used. However, these systems have limited control mechanisms and do not monitor the forces applied to the body during application, and prior research has demonstrated that the loading conditions of soft tissue have a significant effect on the mechanotherapeutic treatment. Thus, the project's overall objective is to conduct a fellowship in order to develop a textile-dominated, mobile, wearable, Textile-based Mechano-Therapeutic Device (TMTD) with programmable actuation that combines natural compliance to aid in muscle recovery and regeneration. Additionally, one of the primary disadvantages of pneumatic compression systems is that they require rigid and bulky pumping systems to perform mechanotherapy, which significantly reduces the device's mobility. As a result, I propose a new device design called Thermally Powered Soft Fluidic Actuators (TPSFAs), which will utilize the liquid/vapour phase transition property of low boiling point liquids to generate the desired pressure level and thus eliminate the need for such bulky components in the proposed device.
