Mechanobiology and Mechanotherapy for Skin Disorders

Human skin is the largest organ of the body. During growth and development, the skin expands to cover the growing skeleton and soft tissues by constantly responding to the intrinsic forces of underlying skeletal growth. In addition, it responds to the extrinsic forces generated by body movements and external mechanical stimuli. Therefore, mechanobiology plays an important role in skin biology and disease pathogenesis. In this chapter, we will review the skin structure, the skin receptors for mechanical forces, and the skin disorders associated with mechanobiological dysfunction, such as keloid, scleroderma, pincer nails, bullous pemphigoid, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), cutis laxa, skin aging, diabetic skin ulcers, leprosy, and lymphedema. Lastly, we will present a short review of mechanotherapy and its future development.