Musculoskeletal Research Group (NuPeM)

Coordinator: Luiz Fernando Approbato Selistre, Ph.D.

The Musculoskeletal Research Group (NuPeM) conducts research focused on instrumentation for the assessment and investigation of the effects of physiotherapeutic resources in healthy adults and individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The most commonly used study designs include clinimetrics, cross-sectional studies, systematic reviews, and clinical trials.

Our research targets individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain, especially those with neck pain, low back pain, and knee pain (osteoarthritis). Various tools are used for this purpose, including questionnaires, handgrip dynamometry, actigraphy, algometry, and quantitative sensory testing.

NuPeM's research aims to validate assessment tools, investigate the effects of physiotherapeutic interventions, and synthesize existing evidence to support healthcare professionals—especially physiotherapists—in making more accurate clinical decisions through the use of higher-quality tools and interventions.

Our research group collaborates with both national and international researchers.
National collaborators include:
– Prof. Marcelo Bracht (Regional University of Blumenau – FURB)
– Prof. Glaucia Helena Gonçalves (Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul – UFMS)

International collaborators include:
– Prof. Richard Keith Jones (University of Salford, England, UK)
– Prof. Marcos A. de Noronha (La Trobe University, Bendigo Campus, Australia)
– Prof. Henrik Bjarke Vaegter (Physiotherapy and Pain Treatment, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, and Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Odense University Hospital, Denmark)
– Prof. Abigail Anderson (University of Central Florida, USA)
– Prof. Erin M. Macri (Erasmus MC, Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Rotterdam, Netherlands)
– Prof. Berend Terluin (Senior Researcher, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands)
– Prof. Bruno Tirotti Saragiotto (University of Technology Sydney, Australia)

Infrastructure:
The laboratory is equipped with devices such as the Lafayette digital hand dynamometer for isometric strength assessment, a computerized algometer for pressure pain threshold assessment (AlgoMed Medoc), and an actigraph for measuring sedentary behavior and physical activity levels (activPAL3, PAL Technologies).

Funding: CAPES, FAPESP, and CNPq.

Instagram: @nupem.ufscar