Category: Research
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. Netball’s Genesis …
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 …
Angel of Summerdown: Physiotherapy’s Forgotten Benefactor
This story begins with the unusually named Almeric Paget Massage Corps. Located in the United Kingdom, the Corps was formed to serve in the First World War. It was the forerunner of physiotherapy services for wounded servicemen; and its’ success significantly boosted the profession by raising practitioner numbers, and their …
Fees and Remuneration in South Africa in the 1920’s
The South African Society of Massage and Medical Gymnastics (now known as the South African Society of Physiotherapy) was formed on 11 December 1924. It had four branches, aligned with the country’s provinces at the time: the Cape Province, Transvaal, Natal and Orange Free State. Early considerations of the Central Governing …