Dr. Sabina Hotz Boendermaker

Personal profile

Position at the ZHAW

Senior researcher

www.zhaw.ch/de/gesundheit/institute-fachstelle/institut-fuer-physiotherapie.html

Expertise and research interests

Painpsychology fear avoidance behavior, cortical reorganization, sensorimotor System, Action Observation, Motor imagery, virtual reality, functional MRI; ACT Acceptance and Commitment Therapy,Mindfulness

Educational background

2015 – 2016 Education in Mindfulness Practices in Psychotherapy
2013-2014 Good Clinical Practice I-III, Clinical Trials Center (CTC), University Hospital Zurich
2010 - 2011 Education in special Pain Psychology, German Society for Psychological Pain Therapy and Research (DGPSF), Munich, Germany.
2002 – 2006 PhD student at the Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital and University of Zurich, Department of Neuropsychology, Switzerland, degree of Doctor of Philosophy. PhD
2002 – 2006 International Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience, Neuroscience Center Zurich, University and ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
1995 – 2001 Student in Psychology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, main topics Applied Psychology, Neurophysiology and Neuropsychology, MSc Degree in Psychology, Licenciata philosophiae.
1988 – 1992 Student in Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy School at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, Diploma in Physiotherapy.

Professional milestones

2016- date Senior researcher, Institute of Physiotherapy, Department of Health, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland
2011 - 2016 Head of the neuroscience group at the Division of Chiropractic Medicine, University of Zürich and University Hospital of Balgrist, Switzerland
2007 - 2014 Project leader at the Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital
2007 - 2010 Postdoc position at the Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich
2002 - 2006 PhD student position at the Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital
1995 - 2002 Freelance physiotherapist in own practice

Membership of networks

• Schweizer Gesellschaft zum Studium des Schmerzes (SGSS)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologische Schmerztherapie und -forschung
• Swiss Society of Neuroscience

Projects

• The Course and Neuroplasticity in Neck Pain-Associated Disorders and Whiplash-Associated Disorders in the General Population / Project leader / Project ongoing
• Bi-directional interactions of sensory perception, motor performance and fear of movement in the development of persistent low back pain / Project leader / Project completed
• Spine Posture Monitoring (DigiSpine) / Team member / Project completed

Publications

• Heussler, Moana; Winter, Jasmin; Hotz Boendermaker, Sabina; Bauer, Christoph Michael,

  2022.

  Watch your back: development and usability of a visual feedback system for people with low back pain : a single subject usability study.

  Physioscience.

  18(03), pp. 110-116.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1460-2339

• Morf, Rita; Pfeiffer, Fabian; Hotz Boendermaker, Sabina; Meichtry, André; Luomajoki, Hannu,

  2021.

  Prediction and trend of tactile acuity, pain and disability in acute LBP : a six-month prospective cohort study.

  BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders.

  22(666).

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04530-z

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Marcar, V.L.; Meier, M.L.; Boendermaker, B. ; Humphreys, B.K., 2016. Reorganization in secondary somatosensory cortex in chronic low back pain patients. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 41(11), E667-673. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0000000000001348

Meier, ML.; Stampfli, P.; Vrana, A.; Humphreys, B.K.; Seifritz, E.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S., 2016. Neural correlates of fear of movement in patients with chronic low back pain vs. pain-free individuals. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 10, S. 386. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00386

Vrana, A.; Meier, ML.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Humphreys, BK.; Scholkmann. F., 2016. Cortical Sensorimotor Processing of Painful Pressure in Patients with Chronic Lower Back Pain-An Optical Neuroimaging Study using fNIRS. Front Hum Neurosci. Nov 17;10:578. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00578

Meier, ML.; Stampfli, P.; Vrana, A.; Humphreys, B.K.; Seifritz, E.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S., 2015. Fear avoidance beliefs in back pain-free subjects are reflected by amygdala-cingulate responses. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 9, S. 424. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00424

Villiger, M.; Grabher, P.; Hepp-Reymond, MC.; Kiper, D.; Curt, A.; Bolliger, M.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Kollias, S.; Eng, K.; Freund, P., 2015. Relationship between structural brainstem and brain plasticity and lower-limb training in spinal cord injury: a longitudinal pilot study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 6(9), S. 254. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00254

Vrana, A.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Stampfli, P.; Hanggi, J.; Seifritz, E.; Humphreys, B.K.; Meier, M.L., 2015. Differential neural processing during motor imagery of daily activities in chronic low back pain patients. PLOS ONE. 10(11). Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142391

Boendermaker. B.; Meier, M.L.; Luechinger, R.; Humphreys, B.K. ; Hotz-Boendermaker, S., 2014. The cortical and cerebellar representation of the lumbar spine. Human Brain Mapping. 35(8), S. 3962-3971. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22451

Holper, L.; Gross, A.; Scholkmann, F.; Humphreys, B.K.; Meier, M. L.; Wolf, U.;Wolf, M.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S., 2014. Physiological effects of mechanical pain stimulation at the lower back measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy and capnography. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, 13(1):121-142. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1142/S0219635214500071

Meier, M.L.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Boendermaker, B.; Luechinger, R.; Humphreys, B.K., 2014. Neural responses of posterior to anterior movement on lumbar vertebrae: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 37(1), S. 32-41. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2013.09.004

Villiger, M.; Estevez, N.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Kiper, D.; Kollias, S.S.; Eng, K.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S., 2013. Enhanced activation of motor execution networks using action observation combined with imagination of lower limb movements. PLOS ONE, 8(8). Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072403

Villiger, M.; Bohli, D.; Kiper, D.; Pyk, P.; Spillmann, J.; Meilick, B.; Curt, A.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Eng K., 2013. Virtual reality-augmented neurorehabilitation improves motor function and reduces neuropathic pain in patients with incomplete spinal cord injury. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. 27(8), S. 675-683. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1177/1545968313490999

Hassanpour, K.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Dokladal, P.; Curt, A., 2012. Low depressive symptoms in acute spinal cord injury compared to other neurological disorders. Journal of Neurology, 259(6):1142-1150. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1007/s00415-011-6316-2

Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Curt, A.; Kollias, S.S., 2011. Movement observation activates lower limb motor networks in chronic complete paraplegia. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. 25(5), S. 469-476. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1177/1545968310389184

van Hedel, H.J.; Dokladal, P.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.;; EM-SCI Study Group., 2011. Mismatch between investigator-determined and patient-reported independence after spinal cord injury: consequences for rehabilitation and trials. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. Nov-Dec;25(9):855-64. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1177/1545968311407518

Funk, M.; Lutz, K.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Roos, M.; Summers, P.; Brugger, P.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Kollias, S.S., 2008. Sensorimotor tongue representation in individuals with unilateral upper limb amelia. Neuroimage. Oct 15;43(1):121-7. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.06.011

Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Funk, M.; Summers, P.; Brugge, P.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Curt, A.; Kollias, S.S., 2008. Preservation of motor programs in paraplegics as demonstrated by attempted and imagined foot movements. Neuroimage. 39(1), S. 383-394. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.07.065

Alkadhi, H.; Brugger, P.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Crelier, G.; Curt, A.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Kollias, S.S., What disconnection tells about motor imagery: evidence from paraplegic patients. Cereb Cortex 2005, 15(2):131-140. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhh116

Alkadhi, H.; Crelier, G.R.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Kollias, S.S., 2002. Somatotopy in the ipsilateral primary motor cortex. Neuroreport. Nov 15;13(16):2065-70.

Alkadhi, H.; Crelier, G.R.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Golay, X.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Kollias, S.S., 2002. Reproducibility of primary motor cortex somatotopy under controlled conditions. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. Oct;23(9):1524-32.

Curt, A.; Alkadhi, H.; Crelier, G.R.; Hotz-Boendermaker, S.; Hepp-Reymond, M.C.; Kollias, S.S., 2002. Changes of non-affected upper limb cortical representation in paraplegic patients as assessed by fMRI. Brain. Nov;125(Pt 11):2567-78. Verfügbar unter: doi.org/10.1093/brain/awf250

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