Category: Research
Dubious Electrotherapy
The word physiotherapy was used by many different practitioners in the first part of the twentieth century; including French physicians, American electrotherapeutists and later British radiologists as medical radiation was first grouped with electrotherapy. The word physiotherapy was also also used by ‘cultists’ like chiropractors and osteopaths, and untrained laypersons …
The Physiotherapy Institutions of Mexico City
Prior to the turn of the 19th century individuals with lesser physical capacity from congenital diseases or acquired from work accidents, war wounds, etc., were commonly excluded from work and social environments because they were considered incapable of contributing to society. Medical care for this type of population was seen …
On the Origins of Netball
The international game of netball can trace its popularity and codification to a unique college of Swedish gymnastics in the United Kingdom at the turn of the nineteenth century. The all-female college was also at the heart of the development of both the physical education and physiotherapy professions. Women’s Basketball …
Dr Bum’s Famous Institute of Mechanotherapy
The term ‘mechanotherapy’ was introduced by Swedish physician Gustav Zander to define a method of treating certain illnesses through massage and exercise, particularly using mechanical equipment. The exercises were drawn from the work of countryman Pehr Henrik Ling, but the equipment was Zanders, and in 1865 he opened the world …
Rosalind Paget: An Historical Overview and Appreciation, Part 2
Rosalind Paget was one of the original four founders of the Society of Trained Masseuses which later became the Incorporated Society of Trained Masseuses, in 1920 the Chartered Society of Massage and Medical Gymnastics and ultimately, in 1944 the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. She was the first Chair of Council …
Rosalind Paget: An Historical Overview and Appreciation, Part 1
Rosalind Paget was one of the original four founders of the Society of Trained Masseuses which later became the Incorporated Society of Trained Masseuses, in 1920 the Chartered Society of Massage and Medical Gymnastics, and ultimately, in 1944 the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. She was the first Chair of Council …
The Bloodless Surgeon of Vienna
Adolf Lorenz was born in rural Austrian Silesia in 1854. His father was a harness maker and innkeeper. A smart boy, Lorenz was able to attend high school through the financial support of his uncle, a monk, and later self funded through his own tutoring. He graduated from the medical …
My European Study Tour
In 1903 Australian proto-physiotherapist Josephine McCormick visited the principal physical culture institutes of Europe, in London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin. She also undertook courses of study with orthopaedists Professor Adolf Lorenz of Vienna, and Dr Bernard Roth of London. Professor Lorenz was a founder of the German society of Orthopaedic …
Australia’s First Physiotherapist
Physiotherapy emerged from nursing and hospitals in the United Kingdom, and later physical education and the military in the United States. In contrast, physiotherapy began in Australia in private practice. Migrants, predominantly British, brought their skills and knowledge in the fields of massage, therapeutic exercise and/or electrotherapy to their new …
The Mexican Rehabilitation Institute, 1960 – 1983
The Mexican Rehabilitation Institute was founded in 1960 in Mexico City; responding to the social need for comprehensive rehabilitation for people with motor disabilities. The Institute was established as a civil society, receiving contributions from the Mexican government, private companies, and the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation. It became one of …