Gemma Espí

University of Valencia | UV · Physiotheraphy

Espí-López, GV, Ruescas-Nicolau, MA, Castellet-García, M, Suso-Martí, L, Cuenca-Martínez, F, and Marques-Sule, E. Effectiveness of foam rolling vs. manual therapy in postexercise recovery interventions for athletes: A randomized controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2022-Self-massage using foam rolling (FR) has been posited to have...

PurposeThe aim of this review is to establish the efficacy of aquatic therapeutic exercise in female breast cancer survivors for improving fatigue, pain, lymphedema, and quality of life.MethodsA systematic literature review was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases for articles published in the last 10 years. The revie...

Understanding the physical, functional, mental, and nutritional attributes of canoe polo athletes is essential for training and development. Forty-three canoe polo athletes (mean age: 21.54 +/- 6.03) participated in the study and were assessed for: anthropometric measurements, exercise motivation, eating habits, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet,...

Nowadays pulmonary diseases are an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality. Diaphragmatic breathing is a controlled-breathing technique that aims to optimize thoracoabdominal movements. The aim of this study was to apply a respiratory and musculoskeletal physiotherapy program in institutionalized older adults and to assess the effec...

Background: Innovation in the training of future physiotherapy professionals through the use of collaborative learning could be an effective method for developing advanced competencies such as professional ethics. This study aimed at comparing the effects of cooperative learning and individual learning on the knowledge of professional ethics, the...

Objective: To ascertain whether the combination of soft tissue and articulatory manual techniques is more effective than either one of these techniques alone for reducing migraine impact; Methods: Seventy-five participants with migraine were randomly divided into three groups (n = 25 per group): (i) soft tissue (STG), (ii) articulatory (AG), and (i...

Background: This study compares the effect of foam rolling (FR) vs. manual therapy (MT) on pain, pressure pain threshold (PPT), headache disability (HDI) and impact of headache (HIT-6) in patients with tension-type headache (TTH). Methods: A total of 38 participants with TTH were randomly assigned to an FR group (FRG, n = 13), an MT group (MTG,...

Background: Migraine is a common neurological disorder, and it is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Manual techniques based on physical therapy have been proposed to improve migraine aspects; however, further research is needed on their effectiveness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a craniosacral therapy...

Background From clinical experience, kinesiophobia represents a barrier to being physically active after a heart transplantation (HTx), but studies in this field are lacking. Identifying the factors associated with kinesiophobia is essential to determine preventive interventions to avoid negative consequences for health. Aims To study the influenc...

The aim of this study was to assess the physical activity level of health care professionals, as well as the differences by sex, age, academic background, and among different health care professions.This is an cross-sectional study.Health care settings in the Valencian Community, Spain.A total of 647 health care professionals.Physical activity was...

Background: Physiotherapy is used as a non-pharmacological treatment for migraine. However, controversy exists over whether articulatory manual techniques are effective in some aspects related to migraine. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a manual therapy protocol based on articulatory techniques in pain intensity, frequency of episodes,...

Understanding the fostering factors of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in post-stroke chronic survivors is critical to address preventive and health interventions. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the association of barriers to PA, fear of falling and severity of fatigue encountered by stroke chronic survivors with dev...

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess whether a virtual rehabilitation program using Nintendo Wii added to conventional physical therapy improved functionality, balance, and daily activities in chronic stroke survivors, when compared with conventional physical therapy. Design We undertook a randomized controlled clinical trial. The partic...

In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of previous history of lateral ankle sprain on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the tibialis anterior (TA), peroneus longus (PL) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) and medialis (GM) in asymptomatic men. For this purpose, a group of 26 men with previous history of lateral ankle sprain (ASG) an...

Background: Nonspecific neck pain is associated with chronic pain, disability, reduced cervical mobility, postural control disorders and impaired proprioceptive control. Aim: To compare the effectiveness of two therapeutic exercise programs (i.e. cervical proprioception and cervical mobility) in reducing pain and disability in individuals with n...

Background: Despite the general belief of the benefits and the widespread use of massage in sport field, there are limited empirical data on possible effectiveness of massage on psychological and physical functional variables. Purpose: The main objective of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of classical and light touch massage on p...

Objective: Increase in population's longevity has led to considerable efforts worldwide on physical therapy aging research. The aim of this study is to identify which are the main scientific journals, as well as the most productive authors, institutions and keywords related to the journals, that have published about physical therapy and aging. Me...

Background: Isolated manual therapy techniques (MT) have shown beneficial effects in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) but the effect of the combination of such techniques, together with the well-stablished splint therapy (ST) remains to be elucidated. Objective: This study was conducted to ascertain whether a combined program of M...

Introducción: las tendinopatías son consecuencia de cargas excesivas en el tendón, por lo que son frecuentes en el ámbito laboral debido a movimientos repetitivos y posturas forzadas. La tendinopatía de Aquiles se caracteriza por una respuesta de curación desorganizada, asociada a cierto grado de neovascularización, siendo el tratamiento conservado...

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of massage in the craniofacial area in menopausal women after the treatment and one month after its completion, and to measure its influence on quality of life in relation to symptoms of menopause, mental health, and body image perception. Design: 50 participants with menopause,...

Background: Assessing patient’s cognitions and emotions about their physical body is an important part of rehabilitation planning, as musculoskeletal disorders can lead to a change in bodily perceptions. Methods: This study explores the validity and reliability of the Body Satisfaction and Global Self-Perception Questionnaire (QSCPGS)] in the Span...

Introduction Low back pain is a prevalent condition with health, social and occupational impact. The aim of this study is to assess the influence of social and occupational factors on worker patients with low back pain. Method A descriptive study was conducted on 349 subjects with low back pain. The main independent variable was being a manual or...

Resumen Introducción El dolor lumbar es una dolencia prevalente con repercusión sanitaria, social y laboral. Es objetivo de este trabajo valorar la influencia de las variables sociolaborales en pacientes con lumbalgia que trabajan. Método Estudio descriptivo en 349 sujetos con lumbalgia. Es variable independiente principal ser trabajador manual y...

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Kinesio Taping (KT), alone or together with balance exercises (BE), on parameters related to postural control, such as dynamic balance, static balance and flexibility. Forty-four male amateur soccer players (mean age 24.45 (4.79) years) were randomly allocated to 3 groups: KT+BE that receiv...

Introducción: la lumbalgia o dolor lumbar (DL) afecta a gran parte de la población y es, junto con el dolor cervical, el máximo responsable de discapacidad. La obesidad es un factor de riesgo importante, ya que implica gran carga mecánica en la columna vertebral. El objetivo de esta revisión es conocer la relación de la obesidad como factor determi...

Introducción: El dolor lumbar es patología prevalente influida por factores ambientales y personales: edad, sexo, nivel educativo, estrés, apoyo social y riesgos laborales, entre otros. Es objetivo de este trabajo es valorar la repercusión de variables sociodemográficas en trabajadores con lumbalgia así como su impacto en discapacidad. Material y M...

Background: Understanding the functional status of people with Alzheimer Disease (AD), both in a single (ST) and cognitive dual task (DT) activities is essential for identifying signs of early-stage neurodegeneration. This study aims to compare the performance quality of several tasks using sensors embedded in an Android device, among people at di...

Purpose The scars derived from the treatment of breast cancer lead to adverse effects such as fibrosis or retractions of the connective tissue. Myofascial release (MR) seeks to reduce restrictions of the fascial system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the clinical impact of MR treatment on women survivors of breast cancer. Methods...

Background: Changes in the paretic-side metabolism post-stroke and quadriceps muscle mechanical properties favour muscle wasting, affecting postural instability and walking impairment. Further clarification is needed in subjects post-stroke who show limited or non-limited community ambulation. Objectives: To analyze between-limb differences in quad...

Context: Knee injury prevention is a critical aspect in sport rehabilitation sciences and taping is a widely used technique in this field. Nevertheless, the role and effectiveness of a long-term application of Kinesio Taping on knee function, disability and injury prevention remains unclear. Objective: To determine the effect of Kinesio Taping,...

Introducción: la lumbalgia o dolor lumbar (DL) afecta a gran parte de la población y es, junto con el dolor cervical, el máximo responsable de discapacidad. La obesidad es un factor de riesgo importante, ya que implica gran carga mecánica en la columna vertebral. El objetivo de esta revisión es conocer la relación de la obesidad como factor determi...

Background: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and muscle soreness. Because of its high prevalence, many therapeutic approaches have been proposed with the aim of improving overall physical function and reducing pain. Since low adherence is one of the major limitations among these patients, treatment...

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is a highly prevalent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), characterized by recurring flares altered by periods of inactive disease and remission, affecting physical and psychological aspects and quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic benefits of soft non-manipulative osteopathic...

Objective: To examine the immediate effect on dynamic and static balance of a manual protocol of plantar stimulation in healthy subjects. Materials and method: Of the 144 healthy and physically active volunteers recruited, 98 subjects participated. Subjects were randomly assigned and allocated to the experimental group (EG) (n= 50), in which a 1...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201189.].

The primary objective of this study was to explore the mechanisms and conditions whereby Tension-Type Headache (TTH) presenteeism relates to health-related loss of productivity as a result of both reduced physical and mental health. To this end, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to conduct a secondary data analysis of a randomized clinica...

The primary objective of this study was to explore the mechanisms and conditions whereby Tension-Type Headache (TTH) presenteeism relates to health-related loss of productivity as a result of both reduced physical and mental health. To this end, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to conduct a secondary data analysis of a randomized clinica...

Mplus scripts for all models. (DOCX)

The primary objective of this study was to explore the mechanisms and conditions whereby Tension-Type Headache (TTH) presenteeism relates to health-related loss of productivity as a result of both reduced physical and mental health. To this end, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to conduct a secondary data analysis of a randomized clinica...

The main goal of this cross-sectional study was to detect whether women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) have altered postural control and to study the sensory contribution to postural control. We also explored the possibility that self-induced anxiety and lower limb strength may be related to postural control. For this purpose, 129 women within an...

Reliability database. (XLSX)

Objective: To determine the efficacy of suboccipital inhibitory techniques in people with migraine compared with a control treatment based on myofascial trigger point (MTrP) therapy and stretching. Design: A randomized, double-blind controlled pilot trial was conducted. Settings/location: University research laboratory. Subjects: Forty-six a...

Study type: A cross-sectional study OBJECTIVES.: The main goal of the study was to analyze posture of Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in women compared to healthy subjects in order to establish if posture assessment could be useful to characterize the syndrome. Secondarily, we explored the impact of sedentary behavior on trunk posture. Summary of bac...

Objectives To compare the effectiveness of a specific Manual Therapy (MT) protocol applied to field hockey players (FHP), versus a Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) protocol, in the improvement of dynamic balance, active range of movement and lumbar flexibility one-week and four-weeks after the treatment. Design Randomized controlled...

Introduction: Chronic low back pain is a pathological process that compromises the functionality and quality of life worldwide. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of classical physiotherapy in the management of non-specific chronic low back pain. Methods: A literature search in English electronic databases was performed...

Background: In the university context, assessing students' attitude, knowledge and opinions when applying an innovative methodological approach to teach professional ethics becomes fundamental to know if the used approach is enough motivating for students. Research objective: To assess the effect of a blended-learning model, based on professiona...

Context : Thoracic manipulation decreases pain and disability. However, when such manipulation is contraindicated, the use of other manual techniques based on the regional interdependence of the thoracic spine, upper ribs, and shoulders is an alternative approach. Objective: The study intended to investigate the immediate changes resulting from...

Study Design Randomized controlled trial. Background Evidence suggests that multimodal interventions including exercise therapy may be effective for patellofemoral pain (PFP), however no study has investigated the effects of trigger point dry needling (TrP-DN) in people with PFP. Objectives To compare the effects of adding TrP-DN into a manual ther...

Background: The subject “Information and Communication Technologies” (ICT) has been implemented recently in the first year of the Physical Therapy Degree at University of Valencia. This subject lays the foundations of other subjects such as Biomechanics, Statistics, Research methodology or the Final Project Degree, in which ICT play an essential r...

Background: For Physical Therapy undergraduate students, it becomes a challenge to understand the meaning of several specific concepts learnt in subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Neuroscience, Pathophysiology, and so on. These subjects include specific vocabulary that usually is not easy to understand. Therefore, according to the proposals of...

Context: The supraspinatus muscle has an important role in the stabilization of the glenohumeral joint. Identifying abnormalities concerning its size and the subacromial space in the presence of pain may be relevant to provide more specific treatments focused on the etiology of pain. Objective: to determinate whether painful shoulder causes chan...

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the treatment effectiveness of the combination of manual therapy (MT) with other physical therapy techniques. Methods: Systematic searches of scientific literature were undertaken on PubMed and the Cochrane Library (2004-2014). The f...

Background: In chronic stroke, feasible physical therapy (PT) programs are needed to promote function throughout life. Objective: This randomized controlled pilot trial investigated the feasibility and effect of a PT program composed of strengthening exercises with elastic bands and bimanual functional training, with clearly defined doses based on...

Objective: Fibromyalgia is a pathological entity characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain and the presence of "tender points". It constitutes a significant health problem because of its prevalence and economic impact. The aim of the present study was to determine the therapeutic benefits of low impact aerobic exercise alone or in c...

Introduction. Tension-type headache (TTH) is a highly prevalent disorder with a significant socioeconomic impact and psychological effects for TTH participants. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of three manual therapy TTH treatments with regard to the reduction of TTH-related anxiety and depression were also addressed. Subjects an...

Background: Manipulative techniques have shown promising results for relief of tension-type headache (TTH), however prior studies either lacked a control group, or suffered from poor methodological quality. Aim: To compare the effect of spinal manipulation combined with massage versus massage alone on range of motion of the cervical spine, heada...

Background: Controversy exists regarding the effectiveness of manual therapy for the relief of tension-type headache (TTH). However most studies have addressed the impact of therapy on the frequency and intensity of pain. No studies have evaluated the potentially significant effect on the patient's quality of life. Aim: To assess the quality of...

Background: The Physical Therapy Degree program is composed by several subjects which combine theory and practice. During the learning process, several assessment tools are given. In the end of their studies, students should have learnt more than 50 different scales and questionnaires which allow them to have a better comprehension of the physical,...

When using teaching materials, university professors know the aims they seek and the role these materials have. However, the use given to them by the students appears to be different from that pursued by their professors.

To observe the involvement of the subacromial space measured by ultrasound and if there are any differences between AGT (Acromio Great Trocanter) and AHD (Acromio Humeral Distance) in the group of patients with and without shoulder pain.

Tension-type headache (TTH) is a disease with a great incidence on quality of life and with a significant socioeconomic impact. The aim of this review is to determine the effectiveness of physical therapy by using manual therapy (MT) for the relief of TTH. A review was done identifying randomized controlled trials through searches in MEDLINE, PEDro...

This study researches the effectiveness of two manual therapy treatments focused on the suboccipital region for tension-type headache. A randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted over a period of four weeks with a follow-up at one month. Eighty-four patients with a mean age of 39.7 years (SD 11.4) with tension-type headache were assigned...

Tensiontype headache (TTH) is the most common type of primary headache however there is no clear evidence as to which specific treatment is most effective or whether combined treatment is more effective than individual treatments. To assess the effectiveness of manual therapy techniques applied to the suboccipital region, on aspects of disability i...

Introduction: The educational strategies and tools that we use in our class can help students to actively participate in the teaching-learning process. There exists a broad range of activities used in and out the classroom, which promotes the active learning process. Undoubtedly, games have been utilized as different ways to study by students with...