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Background: Vertebrae are linked together with facet and intervertebral joints. The application of a force to a spinal segment therefore impact adjacent areas of the spine. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the posteroanterior (PA) displacement of the thoracocervical spine during the application of thoracic PA mobilization. Methods: Forty-one healthy males were recruited. The participants were asked to lie prone and hold their breath at the end of normal expiration while a therapist applied a grade III of central PA mobilization to the T₆ spinous process for 30s. The PA spinal displacements of C₃, C₅, C₇, T₂, T₄ and T₆ were investigated using a motion capture system. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to analyze the PA spinal displacement and correlation between PA spinal displacement at T₆ and the PA displacement of the thoracocervical spines, respectively. Results: The PA displacement of the T₆ and the PA displacement of the marked spines (T₄, T₁, C₇, C₅ and C₃) correlated well with $r$ being 0.83, 0.69, 0.63, 0.63 and 0.54 ($p<0.01$), respectively. A trend toward a decrease in spinal displacement was noted when the distance from T₆ spine increased. It showed that the mobilization force could be transferred from the local area to an adjacent area. Conclusions: These findings may provide plausible evidence that can explain the mechanism of how thoracic spinal manipulative therapy affects neck pain reduction.

As jumping is an effective method of moving over rough terrain, there is much interest in building robots that can jump. Deformation of a soft robot's body is an effective method to induce jumping. Our aim was to develop a jumping robot by deformation of a circular shell made of spring steel to result in the highest jump. Higher jumping requires enlargement of the contact area between the robot body and the floor. We developed a jumping mechanism that utilized a dish shape to maximize contact area.