All posts by Glenn Ruscoe

Glenn is a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist working in private practice in Perth, Australia. A strong advocate for the profession, Glenn has been heavily involved in leadership of professional associations and regulatory boards. Currently he is Managing Director of the Registry Operator of the .physio domain top level extension.

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Council 1997-1999

Great Leaders Create More Leaders

Amongst the many organisations in the history of the world’s physiotherapy profession, none have contributed to the profession so profoundly as the United Kingdom’s Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).  Founded in 1894 as the Society of Trained Masseuses, the CSP was repeatedly challenged by scandal, patriarchy, war, epidemics and economics

The Unique Case of Doctors becoming Physiotherapists

The health workforce is hierarchical and movement across professions is almost always upwards as individuals seek higher reward, recompense and status.  Only rarely is there is movement downward.  This story tells of a unique occurrence in Israel in the late 20th century where necessity caused qualified medical practitioners to retrain

International Man of Action

A man, wearing dark glasses, sits front and centre of the audience of the inaugural meeting of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy, held on 8th September 1951 in Copenhagen, Denmark.  He sits upright, leaning forward slightly, his arms resting lightly on his knees with his hands loosely curled, portraying

The History of Physiotherapy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The following is from an article titled, The History of Physiotherapy in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Mirjana Dujmović and Jasmin Avdovićwritten; published in Fizioterapija Macedonica Journal.  It was translated into English by Google Translate and then summarized. Pre-History Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) located on the European Balkan Penisula is geologically

Britain’s Napoleonic Sailors and the Luxury of Physiotherapy

The physical therapies of massage, exercise, heat/ice, electricity, light, etc., have existed for thousands of years across all civilisations, but it was not until the 20th century that physiotherapy emerged as a significant and unique profession. In his latest article (available in Open Access) physiotherapy writer and researcher David Nicholls

A Nobel Prize for Physiotherapy?

The following story is a summary of an article by Nils Hanson and Anders Ottosson, titled ‘Nobel Prize for Physical Therapy? Rise, Fall, and Revival of Medical-Mechanical Institutes’. In his will of 1895, the Swedish innovator Alfred Nobel stipulated that of five yearly prizes, one should go to the person,

When Giants Collide: The Birth of Manipulative Physiotherapy

The following article is based on an article titled “History of IFOMT” by David W Lamb, Freddy M Kaltenborn and Stanley V Paris.  The three authors were pioneering leaders in their field and drivers of the formation of the, now known as, International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT).

The Bonesetters of Brittany

In the Brittany (Western France) of yesteryear, there was a dearth of medical doctors practicing in the rural areas and when one could be found, his professional services were rarely affordable. Traditional healing treatments and remedies were therefore widely used; one of the local healers most commonly consulted was the

Forty Years of Dutch Manual Therapy

Introduction The 40th anniversary of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Manuele Therapie (NVMT) in 2021 was a trigger for this historical review by Huub Vossen and Anton de Wijer.  Their writings were translated to English via an online translation application and edited by Glenn Ruscoe.   The genesis of manual therapy As

A Brief History of Physiotherapy in The Netherlands

Rise of Remedial Gymnastics and Massage in the 19th Century Physiotherapy, as it is now known, in the Netherlands has its origins in the first half of the 19th century.  The forerunners were healing gymnasts and masseurs who came from Sweden and Germany.  Initially separate professions with separate training, they

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