Category: Editorial
The Greenlane Rocker Bed
The image of the Greenlane ‘rocker’ bed will be familiar to generations of physiotherapists who worked at Greenlane Hospital, in Auckland, New Zealand during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Originally much smaller, the rocker, or tipping bed, was designed by the parents of a girl with bronchiectasis who was being …
Queen Elizabeth II: Late Patron of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
This article reflects some of the key contributions of our late and much-loved Queen Elizabeth II, as Patron of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), as we look to the Coronation of King Charles III on 6th May 2023. There are many references in physiotherapy publications to Her Majesty …
Reflections on two unique and great women who served as presidents of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
Baroness Boothroyd and Baroness Masham who both died during the early months of this year were unique and great women who achieved and gave so much to Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). The CSP was fortunate to benefit from their commitment, expertise and advocacy as Presidents and figureheads. Baroness …
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 …
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 …
Guidelines for Computerised Information Systems in the UK NHS Physiotherapy Services: An Historical Perspective
Background This paper (below) was published in the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Journal “Physiotherapy” in April 1994. At that time, there were very few computerised information systems specifically designed for physiotherapy services and Allied Health in the UK but computerised information systems were gradually becoming more widely used in the …
Why Information Systems for Physiotherapy? – An Historical Perspective
I think the service I led and managed was the first in the United Kingdom to make Personal Computer (PC) access fully available to all physiotherapy staff and by the time I retired from that role all of my out-patient staff had their own work stations complete with PC. I …