Dr. Prof. Susan Armijo Olivo

Pronouns: She/her

Personal Website: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan-Armijo-Olivo

Contact Overview Publications Links

Contact

Professor (Adjunct), Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine - Physical Therapy

Email: sla4@ualberta.ca
Phone: (780) 492-4824
Address: 1-39 Corbett (E.A.) Hall
8205 - 114 St NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2G4

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Musculoskeletal pain neck pain orofacial pain temporomandibular disorders clinical epidemiology randomized trials systematic review

About

Dr. Susan Armijo-Olivo is an Associate Adjunct Professor with dual appointments in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy, and the Department of Dentistry & Dental Hygiene (Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry). Dr. Susan Armijo-Olivo is an internationally recognized researcher, educator, and leader in evidence-based physiotherapy and musculoskeletal care. She serves as a Professor at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in Germany and as an Adjunct Professor in the Faculties of Rehabilitation Medicine and Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, Canada.
Academic Background & Global Reach: Originally from Chile, where she completed her Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Dr. Armijo-Olivo earned her MScPT and PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Alberta. She further specialized through dual postdoctoral fellowships in clinical epidemiology and musculoskeletal disorders. Today, she maintains strong collaborative links with leading research groups across Canada, the UK, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and South America.
Research Leadership: S-TEAM. Dr. Armijo-Olivo leads S-TEAM (STrengthening Evidence-based Physiotherapy And Musculoskeletal care), an initiative dedicated to advancing healthcare systems through rigorous rehabilitation research. Her research portfolio centers on:
Women's Health & Chronic Pain: Investigating why women are disproportionately vulnerable to chronic pain—specifically conditions involving the neck, jaw, face, headaches, and migraines—and evaluating how non-invasive, conservative treatments (exercise, hands-on manual therapy, and multimodal care) can restore quality of life.
System Interactions & Psychosocial Care: Exploring complex connections between the musculoskeletal, neurological, urological, and gynecological systems. Grounded in a holistic psychosocial model, her work examines how physical, mental, and social factors interact to impact overall well-being.
Targeted MSK Interventions: Uncovering how pain affects the musculoskeletal system and identifying the precise exercise and manual therapy protocols needed to treat specific conditions effectively.
Methodological Rigor: Advancing scientific standards for conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews, and meta-analyses in health research.
Knowledge Translation: Developing effective strategies to help clinicians easily adopt cutting-edge evidence into daily clinical practice.
In her academic role, Dr. Armijo-Olivo teaches clinical reasoning, research methodology, biostatistics, and evidence synthesis, training the next generation of healthcare professionals to bridge the gap between science and clinical practice.

Featured Publications

Physical therapy interventions for awake and sleep bruxism: What has been the approach over the last decades? A systematic review of the evidence and research gaps

Ana Izabela Sobral de Oliveira Souza, Jakelline Raposo, Jordana Barbosa da Silva, Maryllian Albuquerque Vieira, Gesa Hahn, Harry von Pierkartz, Susan Armijo-Olivo

Dental and Medical Problems. 2026 June; 10.17219/dmp/215136

Are gastrointestinal, gynecological and urogenital chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs) predisposing or perpetuating factors for orofacial pain (OFP)? A systematic review

Cristian Justribó-Manion, Juliana Ignacio de-Oliveira, Hedwig Van der Meer, Jordana Barbosa da Silva, Gerard Alvarez-Bustins, Juan Mesa-Jimenez, Juan-Carlos Zuil-Escobar, Liz Denett, Mireia Serrallonga-Bosch, Susan Armijo-Olivo

Dental and Medical Problems. 2026 June; 10.17219/dmp/214902

The effectiveness of aerobic exercise on pain and disability in individuals with neck pain: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Ana lzabela Sobral de Oliveira‐Souza, Marie Kempe, Sofia Grimmelsmann, Luiz Felipe Tavares, Ester Moreira De Castro‐Carletti, Angela Viegas Andrade, Liz Dennett, Harry Von Piekartz, Jorge Fuentes Contreras, Susan Armijo‐Olivo

Experimental Physiology. 2026 June; 10.1113/EP091884

Manual therapy and exercise targeted to the neck and orofacial regions for patients with orofacial pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Elisa Bizetti Pelai, Ester Moreira de Castro-Carletti, Luiz Felipe Tavares, Ambra Michelotti, Laurent Pitance, Delaine Rodrigues-Bigaton, Fabiana Foltran-Meschollotto, Liz Dennett, Susan Armijo-Olivo

Disability and Rehabilitation. 2026 January; 10.1080/09638288.2025.2539469

Worldwide prevalence of dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis across 70 countries

Guilherme Tavares de Arruda, Jordana Barbosa-Silva, Patricia Driusso, Cinthuja Pathmanathan, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Mariana Arias Avila

Pain. 2026 January; 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003768

Reporting GUideline for Intervention DEscription in Rehabilitation (GUIDE-Rehab): a tool to open the ‘black box’ of rehabilitation complex interventions

Stefano Negrini, Chiara Arienti, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Pierre Côté, Allen Walter Heinemann, Carlotte Kiekens, Dinesh Kumbhare, William Levack, Thorsten Meyer-Feil, John Whyte

BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. 2025 December; 10.1136/bmjebm-2025-113997

Effectiveness of motivational interviewing on pain-related outcomes in patients with musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Svenja Hardt, Annika Griefahn, Lene Aasdahl, Susan Armijo-Olivo

Disability and Rehabilitation. 2025 August; 10.1080/09638288.2025.2462773

Musculoskeletal Impairments and Dysfunction in Individuals with Head and Neck Cancer Following Surgery with Neck Dissection—A Systematic Review

Norazlin Mohamad, Ana Izabela Sobral de Oliveira-Souza, Stephanie M. Ntoukas, Ester Moreira de Castro-Carletti, Munayati Munajat, Liz Dennett, Kerry S. Courneya, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Margaret L. McNeely

Life. 2025 May; 10.3390/life15050800

Artificial Intelligence (AI) based data analysis methods in biomechanical movement assessments of musculoskeletal conditions discriminating between groups: A Scoping Review Protocol

Kaya Gärtner, Leila Malihi, Jana Strate, Liz Dennet, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Nikolaus Ballenberger, Ursula H. Hübner

2025 April; 10.37766/inplasy2025.4.0088

Effectiveness of manual therapy and exercise therapy on otological symptoms of individuals with temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review

Luiz Felipe Tavares, Leticia Bojikian Calixtre, Elisa Bizetti Pelai, Ester Moreira de Castro-Carletti, Liz Dennett, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Ana Beatriz Oliveira

Disability and Rehabilitation. 2024 December; 10.1080/09638288.2024.2435525

The effectiveness of aerobic exercise compared to other types of treatment on pain and disability in patients with orofacial pain: A systematic review

Ana lzabela Sobral de Oliveira‐Souza, Lisa Gülker, Luiz Felipe Tavares, Angela Viegas Andrade, Liz Dennett, Jorge Fuentes, Tonia Schnepel, Harry von Piekartz, Susan Armijo‐Olivo

Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. 2024 December; 10.1111/joor.13823

Consensus on the definition and assessment of external validity of randomized controlled trials: A Delphi study

Andres Jung, Tobias Braun, Susan Armijo‐Olivo, Dimitris Challoumas, Kerstin Luedtke

Research Synthesis Methods. 2024 March; 10.1002/jrsm.1688

Impact of working and learning from home during the COVID-19 pandemic on the head, the neck and orofacial health: A cross-sectional pilot study

Shmuel Zidell, Lynette Gonzalez, Jacob Scott, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Inae Caroline Gadotti

Dental and Medical Problems. 2024 February; 10.17219/dmp/173383

Is low back pain a risk/prognostic factor for the development and/or progression of temporomandibular disorders? A systematic review with meta‐analysis

C. Justribó‐Manion, J. Mesa‐Jiménez, C. Caballero‐Ruiz‐de‐la‐hermosa, J. C. Zuil Escobar, S. Armijo‐Olivo

Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. 2024 February; 10.1111/joor.13601

Reply to Rossettini et al. “Do Not Mix Apples with Oranges” to Avoid Misinterpretation of Placebo Effects in Manual Therapy: The Risk Is Resulting in a Fruit Basket. Comment on “Molina-Álvarez et al. Manual Therapy Effect in Placebo-Controlled Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 14021”

Miguel Molina-Álvarez, Alberto Arribas-Romano, Carmen Rodríguez-Rivera, Miguel M. García, Josué Fernández-Carnero, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Carlos Goicoechea Garcia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023 July; 10.3390/ijerph20156445

Potential Use of Wearable Inertial Sensors to Assess and Train Deep Cervical Flexors: A Feasibility Study with Real Time Synchronization of Kinematic and Pressure Data during the Craniocervical Flexion Test

Elena Bocos-Corredor, Tomás Pérez-Fernández, Raquel Perez-Dominguez, Sonia Liébana, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Rafael Raya, Aitor Martin-Pintado-Zugasti

Sensors. 2023 April; 10.3390/s23083911

Are Morphometric Alterations of the Deep Neck Muscles Related to Primary Headache Disorders? A Systematic Review

Concepción Caballero Ruiz de la Hermosa, Juan Andrés Mesa-Jiménez, Cristian Justribó Manion, Susan Armijo-Olivo

Sensors. 2023 February; 10.3390/s23042334

Effectiveness of Manual Trigger Point Therapy in Patients with Myofascial Trigger Points in the Orofacial Region—A Systematic Review

Frauke Müggenborg, Ester Moreira de Castro Carletti, Liz Dennett, Ana Izabela Sobral de Oliveira-Souza, Norazlin Mohamad, Gunnar Licht, Harry von Piekartz, Susan Armijo-Olivo

Life. 2023 January; 10.3390/life13020336

A systematic review of the effectiveness of mass media campaigns for the management of low back pain

Arnela Suman, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Sameer Deshpande, Janelle Marietta-Vasquez, Liz Dennett, Maxi Miciak, Michiel Reneman, Erik L. Werner, Sebastian Straube, Rachelle Buchbinder, Douglas P. Gross

Disability and Rehabilitation. 2021 November; 10.1080/09638288.2020.1743777

Influence of Sponsorship Bias on Treatment Effect Size Estimates in Randomized Trials of Oral Health Interventions: A Meta-epidemiological Study

Humam Saltaji, Susan Armijo-Olivo, Greta G. Cummings, Maryam Amin, Paul W. Major, Bruno R. da Costa, Carlos Flores-Mir

Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice. 2021 June; 10.1016/j.jebdp.2021.101544

Comparing machine and human reviewers to evaluate the risk of bias in randomized controlled trials

Susan Armijo‐Olivo, Rodger Craig, Sandy Campbell

Research Synthesis Methods. 2020 May; 10.1002/jrsm.1398

Construct validity of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) quality scale for randomized trials: Item response theory and factor analyses

Emiliano Albanese, Lukas Bütikofer, Susan Armijo‐Olivo, Christine Ha, Matthias Egger

Research Synthesis Methods. 2020 March; 10.1002/jrsm.1385

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