Thomas Riegler

Work at ZHAW

Position at the ZHAW

Lecturer
Project manager 'Development and evaluation of a digital education and self-management program for patients with interstitial lung disease'

www.zhaw.ch/de/gesundheit/institute-zentren/ipt/

Education and Continuing education

Expertise and research interests

Diseases of internal organs, respiratory diseases (pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, Long/Covid), examination of organ systems (clinical differential processes of viscerogenic and musculoskeletal origins), differential diagnosis and screening in physiotherapy, diagnostic ultrasound in physiotherapy, non-invasive ventilation, oxygen therapy, advanced practice in physiotherapy, blended-/eLearning and multimedia design in higher education

Professional milestones

since 2022: Project manager 'Development and evaluation of a digital education and selfmanagement program for patients with interstitial lung disease', ZHAW
since 2019: Lecturer at Zurich University of Applied Sciences for internal medicine, professional responsibility for problem-based learning in internal medicine and applied fundamental knowledge, anatomy, physiology and clinical fundamentals
2017-2022: Head of pulmonary therapy, Berner Reha Zentrum
2015-2017: Clinical specialist in pulmonary therapy, BRZ
2014-2015: Physiotherapist, BRZ

Projects:
2021-2022: Principal Site Investigator at a European-wide research project (multicenter cohort study) “Mobilise-D“ about acitivity assessmentes in COPD, under the lead of the University of Zurich (UZH)
2021-2022: Conception of pulmonary rehabilitations paths concerning tariff structure ST Reha
2020: Redesign of the didactic model and curriculum in the module internal medicine (BScPT, ZHAW) with particular attention on future requirements for the physiotherapy profession
2020: Conception and implementation of SOP and WI concerning adopting measures of hygiene and therapy on Covid19-isolation wards and decentralised, ward-near rehabilitation during the Covid19 pandemic (BRZ)
2019-2021: External lecturer BSc physiotherapy ‘auscultation and airway clearance’, FH Gesundheitsberufe OÖ
2018-2022: Site project manager at a milticentric, randomised controlled trial under the lead of the University of Zurich (UZH): 'Effectiveness of a long-term home-based exercise training program in patients with COPD following pulmonary rehabilitation: A multi-center randomized controlled trial' (CHEST)
2018-2021: Conception and implementation of an advanced practice role: 'Advanced Practitioner Oxygen (APO2) – clinic-intern oxygen prescriptions by physiotherapists'(BRZ)
2017-2018: Implementation of 'use of diagnostic ultrasound by physiotherapists in pulmonary rehabilitation' (BRZ)
2016: ergometric exercise testing by phsyiotherapists in pulmonary rehabilitation (BRZ)
2016-2022: Involvment in EFQM audits / quality certifications in pulmonary rehabilitation (BRZ)
2015-2016: Conception and implementation of a clinic-wide transition of the oxygen storage and delivery system from compressed gas to liquid oxygen (BRZ)
2015: Implementation and quality management of postgraduate training concerning physiotherapy in pulmonary rehabilitation (BRZ)

Educational background

since 2023: PhD program in Care & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Zurich
2017-2020: Master of Science in Physiotherapy, Zurich University of Applied Sciences
2011-2014: Bachelor of Science in Health Studies / Physiotherapy, FH Gesundheitsberufe OÖ

Postgraduate professional education:
2022: Complex breathlessness - what, when and why (ERS)
2022: Swiss Congress for Health Professions
2022: Long-Covid, Myths and Facts (ÖGTC)
2022: Lifting the invisibility of dyspnea (ERS)
2021: Dysphagia
2021: GLA:D Arthrosis
2020-2021: CAS Higher and Professional Education (ZHAW)
2020: Diagnostic Ultrasound
2020: Diploma in Orthopaedic Manipulative Physiotherapy (OMTsvomp)
2020: REDCap (CTC USZ)
2017-2018: Dry Needling Diploma (DVS)
2018: Good Clinical Practice (Universität Bern)
2017: Care for patient with tracheotomy (Inselspital)
2017: Respiratory Physiotherapy and Non-invasive Ventilation (ZHAW)
2017: Optimized management of exercise and workload in cardiac rehabilitation (Ergoline)
2016: CAS manual therapy SAMT Basic (BFH)
2015: Practical trainer BSc Physiotherapy (BFH)
2015: Specialist course respiratory Physiotherapy (BFH)

Membership of networks

• European Respiratory Society (ERS)
• Interessengemeinschaft Physiotherapie Rehabilitation in der Pneumologie (IGPTR-P)
• Schweizerische Verband für Orthopädische Muskuloskelettale Physiotherapie (svomp)
• Dry Needling Verband Schweiz (DVS)

Projects

• Development and evaluation of a digital education and selfmanagement program for patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease. / Project leader / Project ongoing

Publications

• Riegler, Thomas F.; Frei, Anja; Haile, Sarah R.; Radtke, Thomas,

  2021.

  Accompanied versus unaccompanied walking for continuous oxygen saturation measurement during 6-min walk test in COPD : a randomised crossover study.

  ERJ Open Research.

  7(3), pp. 921-2020.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00921-2020

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

Frei, A., Radtke, T., Dalla Lana, K., Brun, P., Sigrist, T., Spielmanns, M., Beyer, S., Riegler, T. F., Büsching, G., Spielmanns, S., Kunz, R., Cerini, T., Braun, J., Tomonaga, Y., Serra-Burriel, M., Polhemus, A., & Puhan, M. A. (2022). Effectiveness of a Long-term Home-Based Exercise Training Program in Patients With COPD After Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Chest, 162(6), 1277–1286. doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2022.07.026

Cerini, T., Hilfiker, R., Riegler, T. F., & Felsch, Q. T. M. (2022). 12 weeks high intensity interval training versus moderate intensity continuous training in chronic low back pain subjects: A randomised single-blinded feasibility study. Archives of Physiotherapy, 12(1), 12. doi.org/10.1186/s40945-022-00136-3

Zumbrunnen, V., Riegler, T. F., Haile, S. R., & Radtke, T. (2022). The impact of seat height on 1-min sit-to-stand test performance in COPD: A randomised crossover trial. ERJ Open Research, 8(3), 00033–02022. doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00033-2022

Riegler, T. F., Frei, A., Haile, S. R., & Radtke, T. (2021). Accompanied versus unaccompanied walking for continuous oxygen saturation measurement during 6-min walk test in COPD: A randomised crossover study. ERJ Open Research, 7(3), 00921–02020. doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00921-2020.

Other publications

2022: Buchkapitel "Sauerstoff (O2) und Säure-Basen-Haushalt" und "Herz- und Lungenauskultation, Perkussion und Stimmfremitus" in Physiotherapie bei chronisch-obstruktiven Atemwegs- und Lungenerkrankungen: Evidenzbasierte Praxis. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2022. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-63613-8.

2022: Mündlicher Konferenzbeitrag 'Advanced Practitioner Oxygen - Sauerstoffverordnungen durch Physiotherapeut:innen' am Swiss Congress for Health Professions

2020: Konferenzposter 'The Impact of Walking Behind the Patient on Six-Minute Walk Test Distance in COPD: A Randomised Cross-over Study' am international European Respiratory Society Congress

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