AMEFI
Celebrating the History, Science, and Human Impact of Physiotherapy
To celebrate World PT Day 2026, the Mexican physiotherapy association, AMEFI – Colegio Nacional de Fisioterapia y Terapia Física, organised academic and creative activities focused on cardiovascular disease and stroke, highlighting physiotherapy's role in prevention, rehabilitation, and community health.
The main celebration consisted of a virtual academic event that brought together more than 120 participants from the physiotherapy community. The event featured three expert physiotherapists from the cardiac physiotherapy department at the Ignacio Chávez National Institute of Cardiology, widely recognised as one of Mexico's and Latin America's leading cardiovascular hospitals and research centers. The speakers were:
- Sara del Rocío Vázquez Palafox: "How Much Do We Know About the Heart? Risk Factors and Cardiac Rehabilitation in Everyday Physiotherapy Practice."
- María Esther Franco Ojeda: "Playing with Heart: A Heartbeat of Transdisciplinary Collaboration."
- María Dolores Rius Suárez: "Heartbeats That Heal: Cardiac Rehabilitation Celebrates Our Profession and Its Commitment to Heart Health."
AMEFI also organized a collage competition to promote awareness of physiotherapy in cardiovascular disease and stroke. The winning artwork, "Move for Your Heart" (Muévete por tu Corazón), by physiotherapist Montserrat Guillermo Durán, documented a community health initiative in Yucatán, where interdisciplinary collaboration provided 30 people with free healthcare services.
A special recognition was awarded to "Becoming Myself Again" (Volver a ser yo), by physiotherapy student Abril de Rivero Ramírez from Puebla, for its sensitive portrayal of stroke rehabilitation as a journey toward regaining movement, confidence, independence, and meaningful participation in everyday life. As Abril expressed in her reflection: "Rehabilitation is not just about recovering a body. It is about regaining confidence, independence, relationships, and meaningful moments."
Together, these initiatives demonstrated physiotherapy's diverse contributions, from cardiovascular prevention and community-based health promotion to neurological rehabilitation and compassionate, person-centered care.
Through these initiatives, AMEFI reaffirmed its commitment to scientific education, preserving the profession's history, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and promoting physiotherapy's essential role in public health. World PT Day 2026 was not only an opportunity to celebrate the profession, but also to honour its history, recognise its achievements, highlight its impact on people's lives, and inspire future generations of physiotherapists in Mexico.
UVM Campus Cumbres
As part of World PT Day 2026, this year focused on cardiovascular disease and stroke, UVM Campus Cumbres organised an academic event aimed at highlighting the role of physiotherapy, exercise and movement in health promotion, prevention, assessment and cardiovascular and neurological rehabilitation.
The initiative built on previous World PT Day activities organised within the UVM physiotherapy community. For 2026, the event was expanded into a larger pilot edition involving lecturers, students, graduates, external professionals and members of the wider health sciences community.
The event took place at the UVM Campus Cumbres auditorium and included both a morning academic programme and an interactive practical activity called the Heart Health Challenge.
