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 …
Mental Health in Wales in the Early 20th Century
OT History Matters is seeking interest from Physiotherapy colleagues on a project about the history of mental health in Wales. They have made contact with the IPHA and provided the information below: This note introduces a new project in Wales. If any physiotherapy colleagues are interested in this era (circa …
World Cup Physio Goes Down
The football World Cup is the most celebrated sporting event on the planet, with the 2018 iteration totaling 3.57 billion combined spectators. In its 92-year history there have been many terrific stories, but for one of the more unusual and involving a team physiotherapist we go back to the very …
Sister Kenny
On the eve of the 70th anniversary of her passing we will explore the life of this Australian ‘nurse’ whose work with polio victims opened the modern-day era of rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Whilst working in outback Queensland in 1909, Kenny found that several children suffered from a disease that she …
Marathon Man
The grandson of enslaved parents, Ted Corbitt (1919-2007) was born on a cotton farm near Dunbarton, South Carolina, USA. He recalls a childhood of running for pleasure and for the sheer necessity of getting around. Corbitt ran track events in high school and later at the University of Cincinnati. Surrounded …
Fysiotherapie in perspectief, 50 jaar verleden – heden
Physiotherapy in Perspective, 50 years past – present The Stichting Gescheidenis Fysiotherapie (SGF) (History of Physiotherapy Foundation) of the Netherlands, through 2018 to 2021 published a series of short historical articles in the journal PhysioPraxis. The series was titled “Physiotherapy in Perspective, 50 years past – present”. With great thanks …
PNF in Short
Initially termed ‘proprioceptive facilitation’ by Dr Herman Kabat in the early 1940’s, physical therapist Dorothy Voss added the word ‘neuromuscular’ to give us the now familiar Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). Kabat’s conceptual framework for PNF came from his experience as a neurophysiologist and physician, and the works of Sister Elizabeth …
100 Objects of Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a profession synonymous with its hands, however there is much equipment we also use. The 100 Objects of Physiotherapy project aims to tell a story of the profession through the tools that it has used throughout its history. Some of the objects we’ve chosen are iconic, others are …