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MOVEMI

Moving away from migraine: migraine prevention and mental health promotion through physical activity

About the project

O MOVEMI - Moving away from migraine: prevention of migraine and enhancing mental health by practicing physical activity is a European project co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme, which aims to promote physical activity as a key tool for improving health and well-being. 

Aimed at European citizens, with a special focus on women between the ages of 18 and 50, the project aims to develop a practical physical activity methodology, applied by physiotherapists, to support migraine prevention and mental health promotion. 

The project began in January 2026 and runs until June 2028. 

Consortium

MOVEMI is led by the European Migraine & Headache Alliance (EMHA), which is based in Belgium and brings together partners from three EU countries: 

  • ARPA European Public Affairs and Communications - Belgium
  • European University of Valencia - Spain
  • Valencia City Council - Spain
  • Spanish Association of Physiotherapists - Spain
  • Porto City Council - Portugal
  • Order of Physiotherapists - Portugal 

Project components

MOVEMI's strategy is based on four main components:

Awareness and inclusion 
Promoting knowledge about the benefits of physical activity in migraine prevention and mental health promotion, ensuring accessibility to different population groups. 

Training physiotherapists 
Development of a MOOC - Massive Open Online Course, aimed at training physiotherapists in the use of physical activity as a migraine prevention strategy. 

Digital training 
Launch of a digital application aimed at citizens, with the aim of promoting physical activity as a preventive measure and facilitating access to tools developed with the contribution of physiotherapy. 

Pilot implementation 
Implementation of a 17-month pilot programme in two urban centres - Porto and Valencia - based on the application of physical activity methodologies for migraine prevention by physiotherapists. 

The role of the Order of Physiotherapists

The Order of Physiotherapists participates in MOVEMI as a partner in the consortium and takes on the role of co-leader of the pilot programme in Portugal. 

In this context, the Order is responsible for implementing interventions with the population, collecting data and evaluating the programme nationwide. The project will be developed in partnership with Porto City Council and will involve the population and the labour context. 

The Order's participation reinforces physiotherapy's contribution to promoting active lifestyles, health prevention and the development of methodologies led by physiotherapists. 

Expected results

The expected results of MOVEMI include improving the physical, mental and emotional health of citizens, particularly women, strengthening the skills of physiotherapists and validating methodologies for integrating physical activity into health prevention. 

The project also aims to encourage public institutions to adopt and expand health-promoting actions in their communities. 

More info

For more information, see the official MOVEMI project page on the European Commission website: EU-Commission MOVEMI website 

Financing

Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s).es) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for these opinions.  

Pedro Maciel Barbosa

Specialist physiotherapist at the Matosinhos Local Health Unit Sub-coordinator for Primary Health Care, Matosinhos Local Health Unit Visiting Assistant Professor at the Porto School of Health Member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Health - SNS Member of the General Council of the Order of Physiotherapists

Carlos Sand

Carlos Areia has been a physiotherapist since 2013, and has worked in various hospitals, clinics and clubs in both Portugal and the UK. He began his academic career at Oxford University in 2016, where he led a clinical trial comparing physiotherapy vs surgery in anterior cruciate injuries in 32 hospitals in England. In 2018 she moved to the neurosciences department, where she developed her own studies on remote monitoring of vital signs, which were implemented during the pandemic. Here he discovered his passion for data, and in 2022, he joined Digital Science as a Data Scientist. He completed his PhD earlier this year, and has more than 60 publications in journals such as The Lancet, BMJ, Cochrane, among others. He is also an honorary lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and a consultant in clinical research.

Eduardo José Brazete Carvalho Cruz

PhD in Physiotherapy from the University of Brighton, UK. Post-Doctorate in Epidemiology from the National School of Public Health at the New University of Lisbon.
Coordinator of the Studies and Planning Office of the Order of Physiotherapists. Coordinating Professor of the Physiotherapy Department of the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (ESS-IPS). President of the ESS-IPS Technical-Scientific Council. Coordinator of the Physiotherapy Department at ESS-IPS. Integrated Researcher at the Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC) (a partnership between FCM-UNL, the National School of Public Health, the University of Évora, the Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health and Santo Espírito Hospital, Terceira Island, Azores).

Sara Souto Miranda

Sara Souto Miranda has a bachelor's and master's degree in physiotherapy from the University of Aveiro, and a postgraduate qualification in adult respiratory physiotherapy from the same institution. In 2023 she completed her double doctorate in Rehabilitation Sciences/Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at the Universities of Aveiro and Maastricht (Netherlands) and is currently working as a technical-scientific advisor to the Studies and Planning Office (GEP) of the Order of Physiotherapists, and as a guest lecturer at the Piaget Institute in Vila Nova de Gaia. As a member of the Respiratory Research and Rehabilitation Laboratory at the University of Aveiro (Lab3R), she has carried out applied research in which she has assessed and treated patients with respiratory pathology, having taken part in 6 research projects. Throughout her career she has published 19 scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals with an impact factor, 1 book chapter and more than 50 abstracts in conference proceedings. She was a research volunteer at the Ciro rehabilitation centre (Centre for expertise in chronic organ failure) in the Netherlands, and is currently a member of the Guideline Methodology Network of European Respiratory Society. She was honoured by European Lung Foundation e European Respiratory Society for carrying out patient-centred research, by the Directorate General for Higher Education with a merit grant for his master's degree, and by the Ciro Centre with a grant to support research abroad.

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