My Hobby

Scholarship and Research

Dr. Luis G. Vargas has conducted numerous research activities in an effort to clinically validate aquatic therapy interventions and establish their evidence based effects on a number of neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. He has published his research studies and presented these at national and international conferences. Highlights of his research include:

1. The Effect of Aquatic Physical Therapy in Improving Function and Decreasing Pain in a Chronic Low Back Pain Patient: A Retrospective Case Report, The Journal of Aquatic Physical Therapy, Volume 6, Number 1, March 1998

2. The Effect of Clinical Wassertanzen Phase III Submersive Maneuvers on Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate and Oxygen Saturation Levels in Normal Subjects, Aquatic Therapy Journal, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 5 -16, January 2004 ((primary investigator and co author with colleague Professor Flavia E. Bayron)

3. The Effect of Bad Ragaz Lower Extremity and Trunk Patterns on Increasing Lumbar Spine Mobility in Normal Subjects, Aquatic Therapy Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 5 - 10, January 2005 (co-author with colleague Professor Flavia E. Bayron)

4. The Effect of Aquatic Sacroiliac Corrective Maneuvers in the Correction of Sacroiliac and Iliosacral Displacement and Pain Relief in a Patient with Sacroiliac Dysfunction, Poster Presentation at the VI Interdisciplinary Congress of Low Back and Pelvic Pain in Barcelona, Spain, November 2007 (collaborated with co-authors Professor Flavia E. Bayron and Melody Medley Keith, PTA)

5. The Efficacy of the Upper Therapeutic Aquassage Protocol Inhibitory Techniques on Pain Relief and Trigger Point Inhibition on a Patient suffering from Chronic Cervical and Scapular Soft Tissue Pain and Disability, (accepted for presentation at the 6th World Congress of the International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in San Juan, Puerto Rico to be held in June 2011)

6. A Pilot Single-Subject Case Report on the Effect of the Clinical Wassertanzen Protocol on a Patient with Fibromyalgia, published in his first book, Aquatic Therapy: Interventions and Applications, Chapter Eleven: Musculoskeletal Applications, Idyll Arbor Publishing, Inc., 2004

7. A Retrospectice Case Report on the Effect of Aquatic Soft and Myofascial Tissue Release and Distraction Maneuvers on the Inhibition of Pain in a Patient with Fibromyalgia, to be published in his second book, Diagnostic Aquatics Systems Integration: Specialized Interventions, Chapter One: Mechanism and Management of Pain in Aquatic Rehabilitation, Idyll Arbor Publishing, Inc., scheduled to be released in 2011.

As an experienced physical therapy educator, Dr. Vargas has furthermore served as research advisor and mentor to doctor of physical therapy students, clinicians and faculty.