Fanny Izchel Cepeda Salazar, a fourth-year student in the medical surgery program at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM), was the only Mexican to participate in the 38th Spanish Physiological Sciences Society Congress (SECF), which took place in Zaragoza, Spain.
Cepeda Salazar coauthored a research paper “Analysis of Electromyographic Activity in the Quadriceps Femoris after Applying Kinesio Taping and Electrotherapy: Athletic and Sedentary.” She presented the methodology and results of the experiment, in which she studied two groups of university students, to the SECF congress. The Nucleus of Academic Quality in Physiology (Nucaf) from the UAEM’s medicine department developed a research protocol to measure the efficacy of two different physical therapies that are used to increase muscle strength.
The results of the experiment, which Cepeda Salazar presented to the SECF, show that electrotherapy produces better results in terms of increased muscular strength than taping, which did not produce observable results.
Electrotherapy consists of applying patches on the skin that emit a small electrical charge that stimulates muscles, while taping consists of using elastic cotton bands that stimulate skin sensors and activate muscles. UAEM students Emmanuel Salvador Hernández Alvarado, Cinthia Samantha Carrillo Alcántara and Miguel Ángel Rivas García also participated in the project. Professors Ivonne Analleli de Paz Garduño and Virgilio Eduardo Trujillo Condes served as advisors.
The State of Mexico Science and Technology Council (Comecyt) provided support for the Cepeda Salazar to present their research in Spain.
The Nucaf help students develop skills in various contexts in and out of the classroom, including research and teaching.
