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New Insights into Physical Therapy
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New Insights into Physical Therapy

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2026 | Viewed by 11255

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Patsaki Irini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Advanced Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Department, School of Health & Care Sciences, University of West Attica (UNIWA), 12243 Athens, Greece
Interests: physical therapy; respiratory physiotherapy; rehabilitation; muscular weakness; ICU rehabilitation; virtual reality; innovation in rehabilitation; critical illness; prevention
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. George A. Koumantakis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Advanced Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Department, School of Health & Care Sciences, University of West Attica (UNIWA), 12243 Athens, Greece
Interests: evidence-based physiotherapy practice; prevention; neuromusculoskeletal pathologies; occupational health; physical activity; exercise; low back pain
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advances in the field of technology and physical therapy have facilitated and augmented the recovery process in the spectrum of pathologies treated in physical therapy rehabilitation. Injuries, chronic illnesses, and different kinds of disabilities often affect peoples’ functionality and quality of life. These effects and the long recovery pathway that most would have are being described as a significant burden not only for the patient but also for society and health systems.

New insights into physical therapy rehabilitation include all new techniques and technologies that provide new possibilities and transform the rehabilitation process. New techniques such as blood flow restriction, motor imagery, clinical pilates, and emerging technologies such as virtual reality provide new opportunities to enhance function, mobility, and quality of life. These advances beyond the strict aspect of pathology could also lead the field of prevention and healthy aging, minimizing disability, and preserving healthy and mobile living. New technologies have especially managed to overcome environmental barriers and make physical rehabilitation more accessible. 

We welcome the latest research developments and findings in the above areas in this Special Issue. Thus, we invite you to contribute original research articles and reviews of the literature, aiming to include high-quality papers on new techniques and technologies in the field of physical rehabilitation. 

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Applied Sciences.

Dr. Patsaki Irini
Dr. George A. Koumantakis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • physical rehabilitation
  • new technologies
  • virtual reality
  • augmented reality
  • telerehabilitation
  • clinical pilates
  • blood flow restriction
  • manual therapy
  • motor imagery
  • electrophysical modalities
  • therapeutic exercises
  • neurology
  • musculoskeletal
  • geriatric
  • respiratory
  • acute illness
  • cardiovascular

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 3093 KB  
Article
Injury Pattern According to Player Position in Male Amateur Football Players in Greece: A Retrospective Study
by Konstantinos Vassis, Ioannis Misiris, Spyridon Plakias, Athanasios Siouras, Savvas Spanos, Eleftherios Giamouridis, Zacharias Dimitriadis, Dimitrios Tsaopoulos and Ioannis A. Poulis
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(17), 6320; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176320 - 7 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1987
Abstract
Background: Football has a high injury risk due to speed and contact, and injury patterns may vary by playing position. Positional roles affect physical and physiological demands and may influence injury characteristics. Although this has been examined in professionals, data from amateur players [...] Read more.
Background: Football has a high injury risk due to speed and contact, and injury patterns may vary by playing position. Positional roles affect physical and physiological demands and may influence injury characteristics. Although this has been examined in professionals, data from amateur players are scarce. This study examined the incidence, type, and severity of injuries among amateur footballers in Greece with respect to playing position. Methods: A retrospective epidemiological study analyzed musculoskeletal injuries in 222 amateur male football players during the 2022–2023 season. Data were collected via a CHERRIES-compliant online survey (SurveyMonkey®) from May to July 2023. Eligible participants were active male athletes aged ≥18 years competing in amateur Greek leagues. Injuries were defined according to the FIFA–UEFA consensus and expressed as incidence rates per 1000 h of exposure. Statistical analyses used SPSS v25 with significance at p < 0.05. Results: Among players (mean age: 25.3 ± 5.7 years), injury prevalence ranged from 65.1% (DFs) to 79.3% (GKs) with no significant association between playing position and injury risk (p = 0.379). Injury incidence ranged from 4.5 to 5.7 per 1000 h, highest among MFs. Incidence rates ranged between 1.33 and 2.74 injuries/1000 h in matches versus 1.33 to 2.09/1000 h in training, with DFs, FWs, and MFs more prone to match injuries, whereas GKs had slightly higher training rates; however, the number of injuries did not significantly differ between games and training across positions (χ2 = 5.21, p = 0.517). Muscle strains and lower-limb injuries predominated. Injury severity differed significantly by position (p = 0.001), but injury type and mechanism did not. Conclusions: GKs and MFs showed the highest prevalence and incidence, but position was not linked to overall risk. Severity differences highlight the need for position-specific prevention strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Physical Therapy)
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20 pages, 5278 KB  
Article
Inspiratory Muscle Training Included in Therapeutic and Training Regimens for Middle-Distance Runners
by Paulina Okrzymowska, Krzysztof Mackala, Wojciech Kucharski and Krystyna Rozek-Piechura
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(9), 3180; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14093180 - 4 May 2025
Viewed by 4668
Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of respiratory muscle training in runners in relation to gender and trainers (PowerBreathe and Threshold). Methods: This study comprised 32 athletes training in middle-distance running at a high sports level. [...] Read more.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of respiratory muscle training in runners in relation to gender and trainers (PowerBreathe and Threshold). Methods: This study comprised 32 athletes training in middle-distance running at a high sports level. The subjects were divided into groups depending on the applied breathing training (IMT): group IMT on the PowerBreath, group IMT on the Threshold, and the control group labeled sham-IMT. The following tests were performed on each athlete: spirometry, maximal inspiratory pressure, expiratory pressure, and physical performance. Results: A significant increase in the levels of the parameters VO2/kg, PEF, PImax, and PEmax, as well as a decrease in lactic acid levels and an increase in lactate threshold in both sexes, were observed as a result of the training on the PowerBreathe device. There were no significant differences in the levels of the parameters VO2/kg, PEF, PImax, lactic acid, and lactate threshold in either sex after Threshold training. A significant increase in PEmax was found in the Threshold device training group. Conclusions: Most of the assessed parameters of physical fitness and lung ventilation function, along with the respiratory muscle strength of women and men running middle distances, increased significantly after the use of IMT on PowerBreathe, and these results were maintained in the third stud, in contrast to the use of IMT on Threshold, with which there was no significant improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Physical Therapy)
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11 pages, 239 KB  
Article
Dysfunctional Breathing, in COPD: A Validation Study
by Andreas Daskalakis, Irini Patsaki, Aikaterini Haniotou, Emmanouil Skordilis, Afrodite Evangelodimou and Eirini Grammatopoulou
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(7), 2353; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14072353 - 29 Mar 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2269
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The Nijmegen Questionnaire (NQ) has been a prevalent screening tool for dysfunctional breathing for the past 40 years. Until recently, the validity of the NQ has been established for the general population with hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) and for individuals with asthma, but [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The Nijmegen Questionnaire (NQ) has been a prevalent screening tool for dysfunctional breathing for the past 40 years. Until recently, the validity of the NQ has been established for the general population with hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) and for individuals with asthma, but not for people with COPD. The aim of the study was to examine the validity and reliability of the NQ in individuals with COPD. Methods: Construct, convergent, divergent and discriminant validity as well as internal consistency reliability were examined in a sample of 84 people with stable COPD. Results: A three-factor solution with 16 items and 74.70% of explained variability was extracted through principal component analysis. High internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.94) of the 16 NQ items was found. Significant differences were found between COPD individuals with and without DB (p < 0.001) and among people of all COPD levels of severity (p < 0.001). The value “>23” was found to detect the presence of DB, with 95.92% sensitivity and 94.29% specificity. Significant correlations were found between the total NQ score with BODE index (r = 0.81), Borg dyspnea scale (r = 0.47) and CAT (r = 0.49). The prevalence of DB for the specific sample was found to be 58.3%. Conclusions: The present study provided the first validity and reliability evidence for the NQ for people with stable COPD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Physical Therapy)

Other

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 921 KB  
Systematic Review
Motor Imagery for Post-Stroke Upper Limb Recovery: A Meta-Analysis of RCTs on Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Scores
by Luis Polo-Ferrero, Javier Torres-Alonso, Juan Luis Sánchez-González, Sara Hernández-Rubia, Rubén Pérez-Elvira and Javier Oltra-Cucarella
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(21), 7891; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14217891 - 6 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1001
Abstract
Objectives: Motor imagery (MI) may enhance post-stroke recovery, but evidence of its benefit over conventional rehabilitation therapy (CRT) is inconsistent. This study evaluated the effect of MI combined with CRT on upper-limb recovery, accounting for methodological quality and publication bias. Methods: [...] Read more.
Objectives: Motor imagery (MI) may enhance post-stroke recovery, but evidence of its benefit over conventional rehabilitation therapy (CRT) is inconsistent. This study evaluated the effect of MI combined with CRT on upper-limb recovery, accounting for methodological quality and publication bias. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Searches were performed in multiple databases up to July 2025. Methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using the PEDro scale and Cochrane RoB 2 tool, respectively. Analyses included the calculation of effect sizes (ES), heterogeneity, sensitivity, publication bias, and GRADE-based certainty assessment. Results: From 4074 records, 10 randomized controlled trials (n = 255) were included. The initial pooled analysis showed a small-to-moderate effect of MI + CRT versus CRT alone (ES = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.16–0.74). However, the overall ES calculated with a robust variance estimator was −0.06 (95% CI: −0.21, 0.08). Most trials had methodological limitations (mean PEDro = 6.0; high risk of bias in 7/10 studies). The GRADE evaluation indicated a very low certainty of evidence. Conclusions: The initially observed positive effect of MI combined with CRT is not robust. When accounting for statistical dependencies and potential biases, the effect vanishes and is no different from zero. Current evidence does not support the use of MI as a standalone adjunct to CRT. Larger, high-quality RCTs with standardized protocols are required to establish any potential clinical relevance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Physical Therapy)
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