Month: August 2018
Remembering Brian Davey
We heard last week of the recent death of Brian Davey. I had the good fortune to interview Brian as part of the centenary celebrations for New Zealand physiotherapists in 2013, and it was only here that I got to understand the full breadth of his work and his service …
Interview with Joan McMeeken
Last week I spoke with Professor Joan McMeeken about her recent book Science in Our Hands: Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne, 1895–2010. Joan is the Foundation Professor and was Foundation Head of the School of Physiotherapy and Associate Dean Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of …
A brief history of Brazil’s Federal Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy (English & Portuguese)
The aspiration in forming the Council was to create a federal entity that would act as ethical and social regulator of the profession, whose advent resulted from the work of the Brazilian Association of Physical Therapists together with local associations and state leaderships. Initially linked to the Ministry of Labor …
Work
Physiotherapy is inextricably linked to work; to returning people back to productive labour or meaningful activities. As an important cog in the health services of many countries around the world, physical therapies have proven a powerful and effective way to rehabilitate people who have been ill and injured and maintain their …
Australia’s polio scourge
The recent movie Breathe, the inspirational true story of Robin Cavendish’s battle with paralytic poliomyelitis, is a reminder of a disease that is almost forgotten, except by those whose lives were and remain directly affected. In recent years adults who suffered minor illnesses or had mild muscle weakness during the …