Early Years of Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland
The first course in physiotherapy at the University of Queensland commenced in 1938. Like other programs in Australia and around …
Time for Change
Fifty years ago the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) elected its first physiotherapist President. Previously the APA had always been presided over by a medical practitioner; which seemed perfectly natural when medical referrals were required for physiotherapy treatment. The 1970’s was a politically tumultuous period in Australia. After 23 years of …
The First 50 Years of the Australian College of Physiotherapy
The Australian College of Physiotherapists was established in August 1971, although the idea of a College was first suggested in 1955. The original vision was to develop a means of encouraging and recognising scholarly and original work carried out by members of the profession as there were no formal higher …
Significant Landmarks in UK Physiotherapy Through Official Memorobilia
Historical Notes and Personal Reminiscences 1994 was a significant date in the history of physiotherapy in the British Isles; it was the celebration of the Centenary of the founding of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). It was during the summer of 1894 that four nurses and midwives, Lucy Robinson, …
The next big thing in physiotherapy history
We had another great biannual meeting of the whole IPHA membership yesterday. Thanks to everyone who took part. As well as reviewing the work of the group over the last six months – especially progress on our fabulous 100 Objects campaign – we talked about getting started on our next …
Soviet Electrotherapy
Perhaps no other country in the world has been engaged in the hardware of physiotherapy as massively as the Soviet Union. Since childhood, every Soviet citizen knew about devices for the prevention of all kinds of diseases: They were not only in hospitals and sanatoriums, but also in kindergartens, schools …
Fisioterapia no Brasil: Profissão assegurada por Decreto-Lei
DECRETO-LEI N.938 / 69 DE 13 DE OUTUBRO DE 1969 DOU nº.197 de 14/10/69 – retificado em 16-10-1969 Sec. I – Pág. 3.658 Provê sobre as profissões de fisioterapeuta e terapeuta ocupacional, e dá outras providências Os Ministros da Marinha de Guerra, do Exército e da Aeronáutica Militar, usando das …
Fair Competition in the Paralympics
The history of disabled people participating in sport is closely allied with modern thoughts and techniques of rehabilitation and recovery from injury. In the 1940’s one of the earliest pioneers of disabled sports, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, observed that the enjoyment and motivation of competition could drive much better levels of …
Pathway to the Modern Olympic Polyclinic
Doctors (and later nurses, physiotherapists, nutritionists, and other biomedical staff) have been present at the Olympic Games from the very beginning but the pathway to modern Olympic polyclinic can only be described as adventurous. In 1896 (Athens) the marathon and water sports got most of the medical attention because they …
Iron Lung fabricated in Lübeck in 1955 Permission to reproduce kindly granted by Deutsches Orthopädisches Geschichts- und Forschungsmuseum.
Locating Objects from Physiotherapy History
There are different ways to learn about (physiotherapy) history as a wide variety of sources answer questions about the past. Historians differentiate between primary sources, i.e. sources that have survived from the past, and secondary sources, i.e. accounts of the past that are written at a later period of time. …
History of Physiotherapy Uniforms in Canada
We know that in our world today, uniforms are ubiquitous and continue to define who we are and where we work. As examples, uniforms in the military stemming back to Napoleon Bonaparte, uniforms of the Church (think about the Pope’s regalia and the red robes of his cardinals), Police and …