Primary dysmenorrhea is considered one of the main causes of pelvic pain during a woman’s childbearing years, resulting in poor quality of life. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) in painful symptomatology improvement and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) intake reduction in women with primary dysmenorrhea (PD) compared with a control group in the short, medium, and long terms. A single-blind, controlled clinical trial was developed. Participants were randomized to the experimental (TTNS) and control group (sham TTNS). Both groups received 12-weekly 30-min sessions with a NeuroTrac^TM PelviTone electrostimulation device. The intensity and severity of pain and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) intake were evaluated in the short-term (after treatment), medium-term (1–3 months), and long-term (6 months). A total of 61 participants were randomized, with a split of 31 (experimental group) and 30 (control group), but 55 participants completed the study and were analyzed. Statistically significant differences between both groups in the maximum pain intensity decrease (F = 4.88, p = 0.0043) measured with the visual analogue scale, as well as NSAID intake decrease (F = 4.68, p = 0.011) and days of their ingestion (F = 4.57, p = 0.012) occurred in the short term. Furthermore, significant decreases in the total number of NSAIDs ingested during the cycle (F = 3.82, p = 0.011) and the number of days on which patients ingested NSAIDs (F = 3.59, p = 0.015) in the medium–long term occurred. TTNS could be an effective and safe strategy to reduce pain caused by PD, which could reduce or complement the use of pharmacological techniques and other more invasive methods.

Background: Newborns’ plasticity allows the brain to adapt and reorganize in response to external stimuli; therefore, tactile stimuli could generate brain changes. The objective of this study was to verify the feasibility of using fNIRS to measure the degree of brain oxygenation with tactile techniques in babies. Methods: Oxygenation was recorded continuously and bilaterally before, during, and after the interventions (massage protocol and Reflex Locomotion Therapy) with functional near-infrared spectroscopy in 11-week-old babies. Results: Preliminary data suggested that the massage intervention decreased the activity bilaterally (first minute of the intervention) and then increased it bilaterally (second minute), where it continued to increase in the left hemisphere (third minute) before decreasing bilaterally (fourth minute). Finally, the activity continued to decrease in the right hemisphere but increased in the most dorsal area of the left hemisphere (fifth minute). For the Reflex Locomotion intervention, the activity substantially increased bilaterally (first minute of the intervention) and then decreased bilaterally, but more pronouncedly in the left hemisphere (second minute). Then, the activity decreased to pre-intervention values (third minute) and increased bilaterally again, but pronouncedly in the right hemisphere (fourth minute). In the fifth minute, the activity in the right hemisphere drastically decreased, but it increased in the left hemisphere. During the post-intervention resting period, in the massage intervention, the activity increased in the right hemisphere and in the most ventral part of the left hemisphere; in Reflex Locomotion Therapy, the activity decreased only in the left hemisphere. Conclusions: Both techniques achieve a potential increase in oxyhemoglobin concentration bilaterally during stimulation, but while the effects decrease with Reflex Locomotion Therapy, the effects are maintained with massage. More studies are needed to establish the neurophysiological basis of these therapies in pediatrics.

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is a leading cause of chronic cyclic pelvic pain, contributing to a reduced quality of life and sleep disturbances in women. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) in improving the quality of life, sleep, and overall health perceptions of participants compared to a control group of women with dysmenorrhea over short-term, medium-term, and long-term periods. Methods: A single-blind, controlled clinical trial was conducted, with participants randomly assigned to an experimental group (receiving TTNS) or a control group (receiving sham TTNS). Both groups underwent 12, weekly 30 min sessions using the NeuroTrac™ PelviTone electrostimulation device. Outcomes related to quality of life, sleep deficiency, and overall improvement were evaluated at three time points: short-term (post-treatment), medium-term (1–3 months), and long-term (6 months). Results: Of the 61 participants initially randomized (31 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group), 55 completed the study and were included in the final analysis. A statistically significant improvement was observed in the experimental group in both physical and mental health components, as measured by the SF-36v2^® questionnaire, following 12 weeks of intervention, compared to the control group, persisting 6 months after the intervention. Additionally, statistically significant differences in overall improvement were noted between the two groups, as measured by the PGIC questionnaire at the end of treatment (p = 0.0103) and 6 months post-treatment (p = 0.0432). Conclusions: TTNS appears to be a safe and effective strategy for enhancing quality of life and overall health in women with PD, potentially reducing the reliance on pharmacological treatments or more invasive methods.

Background and Clinical Significance: Understanding early brain development in infants is essential as identifying an abnormal pattern could accelerate the start of early interventions. There is still limited evidence on how external stimuli (such as tactile, auditory, and visual inputs) influence cortical electrical activity, underscoring the need for integrative studies comparing these modalities in the first months of life. The objective of this paper is to determine the effects of different stimuli (tactile, auditory, and visual) in cortical electrical activity to take advantage of its use in individualized protocols and treatments. Case Presentation: An 8-channel electroencephalography cap was placed on the infant’s head to analyze 10 different conditions depending on the selected stimuli: Kangaroo Care with mother and father, rest, tactile stimuli, visual stimuli, acoustic stimuli, and sleep for 5 min. The environment was the same in all conditions to ensure comparison. All conditions have been able to modify the cortical electrical activity presenting different patterns of electrical activity. Tactile stimuli (massage) showed increased activity in the left parietal region. Acoustic stimuli showed increased activity in the frontal region. Visual stimuli presented different patterns, but with a higher occurrence of artifacts due to baby’s movement. Conclusions: Acoustic stimuli with music increased cortical electrical activity in frontal region, while tactile stimuli increased the left cerebral hemisphere activity. Future studies are needed to support these exploratory results to establish early interventions in pathological conditions.

Background: Central nervous system development is a rapid and highly plastic process during the first years of life. Tactile stimuli have been shown to induce cortical changes, but potential sex-related differences remain unexplored. This study aimed to investigate sex-specific differences in cortical activity and cerebral oxygenation in response to tactile stimulation via body massage. Methods: Four healthy full-term infants (two females and two males), all aged 11 weeks, were included in this prospective exploratory study. Each infant received a standardized 5 min massage protocol. Cortical activity and cerebral oxygenation were assessed using an 8-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) before, during, and after the intervention, with a 5 min pre-intervention resting period used as the baseline. Results: EEG analysis focused on a single spectral band (4 Hz–30 Hz). This range was selected to capture the main cortical oscillations in infants, including theta, alpha, and beta activity, while delta activity below 4 Hz was partially excluded to reduce movement and physiological artifacts. Standard infant EEG bands were considered when defining this range. Data shows for the female subject an average PSD of −6.726 (± −4.075), and for the male subject, −12.594 (± −10.741). Although babies are of the same gestational age, they exhibited distinct basal cortical activity, which prevented comparisons from being made. Nevertheless, massage induced similar activity patterns in all subjects with increased cortical electrical activity in the left parietal region relative to baseline. fNIRS data showed that comparable HbO concentration patterns between participants were observed only during the second minute of recording. Relative to baseline, pre-intervention HbO responses displayed an opposite distribution, and the effects of the intervention differed by sex. The female participant exhibited a slight reduction in activation in the right hemisphere accompanied by a modest increase in the most ventral region of the left hemisphere. Conversely, the male participant showed an inverse response pattern, characterized by a marked increase in right hemispheric activation and a pronounced decrease in the left hemisphere during the intervention period. Conclusions: These preliminary observations suggest the presence of early variations in cortical processing that warrant further investigation in larger samples, although they cannot be considered conclusive. While baseline response patterns differed between participants, both showed increased left parietal activity during tactile stimulation. The inversion of HbO responses between the pre-intervention and intervention phases points to potential sex-related differences in hemodynamic trajectories. Nevertheless, these results remain preliminary, and larger, well-powered studies are required to determine whether these patterns reflect stable, sex-dependent developmental changes.

Strong evidence shows the importance of intrinsic foot muscles (IFMs) in balance and foot and ankle biomechanics; despite this, not much research has been