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Physiother Theory Pract 2021 Feb 25:1-19. Epub 2021 Feb 25.

Governor Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

In 2019 the Association of Visually Impaired Chartered Physiotherapists, originally the Association of Blind Certificated Masseurs, celebrated the centenary of its formation and becoming the first ever Specific Interest Group admitted to the Incorporated Society of Trained Masseuses which, later in the 20 century, became the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. These landmarks motivated the author to research for this chronological, descriptive, narrative review of the history of blind physiotherapy and its contribution to physiotherapy in the United Kingdom. The early training and practice of massage by blind practitioners, the organizational milestones in mainstream and blind physiotherapy and the inter-relationship between the two is considered. Read More

J Sport Rehabil 2021 Feb 24:1-6. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Context: Myofascial self-release is performed using a roller to exert pressure on the soft tissues and to promote effects similar to those of traditional massage. However, there is no standardization regarding its application, mainly in relation to time.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of myofascial self-release with a rigid roller on range of motion (ROM), pressure pain threshold (PPT), and hamstring strength in asymptomatic individuals following 2 different times of intervention. Read More

J Sport Rehabil 2021 Feb 22:1-6. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

Context: Fast and adequate recovery after exercise and activity is important for increasing performance and preventing injuries. Inadequate recovery usually causes changes in the biomechanical and viscoelastic properties of the muscle.

Objective: To compare the immediate effect of petrissage massage (PM) and manual lymph drainage (MLD) following submaximal exercise on the biomechanical and viscoelastic properties of the rectus femoris muscle in healthy women. Read More

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2021 Feb 21;22(1):212. Epub 2021 Feb 21.

Human Evaluation and Rehabilitation Laboratory, Physical Therapy Department, School of Health Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Patras, Psaron 6, 25100, Egio, Greece.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short- and intermediate-term effects of the combined application of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) techniques and neuromuscular exercises of the cervical and thoracic area on the improvement of the functionality of patients with mechanical neck pain and accompanying forward head posture (FHP).

Methods: Twenty patients with neck pain and FHP were randomized and received eight treatment sessions of either targeted IASTM in combination with neuromuscular exercises (Group A) or a classical massage and the same set of exercises (Group B). The cervical vertebral angle (CVA), cervical range of motion (ROM) and strength, pain (visual analogue scale-VAS), and neck disability index (NDI) were measured throughout the treatment period and in the two- and four-week post-treatment periods. Read More

Psychopathology 2021 Feb 19:1-6. Epub 2021 Feb 19.

Department for Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany.

Introduction: A disturbed sense of self is frequently discussed as an etiological factor for delusion symptoms in psychosis. Phenomenological approaches to psychopathology posit that lacking the sense that the self is localized within one's bodily boundaries (disembodiment) is one of the core features of the disturbed self in psychosis. The present study examines this idea by experimentally manipulating the sense of bodily boundaries. Read More