Tag: C20th
Lest We Forget
At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we will remember them. The Armistice (Latin = “to stand arms still”) agreement to end the hostilities of the First World War at the beginning of peace negotiations, began at 11am on the 11th of November 1918. …
The Glass Room
Physiotherapy gymnasiums are rarely located within architectural splendour but for a short period in communist Czechoslovakia, a hospital physiotherapy department was located in one of the great buildings of European modernism. UNESCO World Heritage Listed Villa Tugendhat was built in 1929–1930 for Greta and Fritz Tugendhat to a design by …
Physiotherapy is Handling: Then and Now
The seminal paper “Physiotherapy is Handling” was presented by Joyce Williams at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) Founders’ Lecture at the CSP Annual Congress in 1985 and was reproduced in the Physiotherapy Journal in February 1986 (Vol.72, no.2). Joyce’s biographical details current at the time of publication appear following …
Physical Therapy’s Oscar Winning Film
On the 75th anniversary of its production we look back at the profession’s 1949 Oscar winning film. ‘Toward Independence’ is a 1948 American short documentary film about the rehabilitation of military veterans with spinal cord injuries. In 1949, it won an Oscar for Documentary Short Subject at the 21st Academy …
Great Leaders Create More Leaders
Amongst the many organisations in the history of the world’s physiotherapy profession, none have contributed to the profession so profoundly as the United Kingdom’s Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). Founded in 1894 as the Society of Trained Masseuses, the CSP was repeatedly challenged by scandal, patriarchy, war, epidemics and economics …
The Mother of #GlobalPT
The hashtag #GlobalPT emerged on the social media network Twitter at the World Confederation of Physical Therapy (now World Physiotherapy) Congress in Capetown, South Africa in 2017. It worked to connect digital commentary and build international camaraderie amongst practitioners, including those who could not be physically present. In this article, …
The Sunlight League
Physiotherapist Cora Wilding founded the Sunlight League in New Zealand, was instrumental in establishing the Youth Hostel Association and was one of the most passionate advocates for the physical culture movement. The Physical Culture Movement was a health and fitness movement that began in Europe during the 19th century, spreading …
From Aide to Diagnostician: An American Physical Therapy Transformation
How current physical therapists became diagnosticians illuminates the trajectory of the profession and the value we offer. My recent exploration into this American story was recently published as an historical essay in Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (PTJ). Here, I provide a brief overview of the article. Transformation didn’t occur …
International Man of Action
A man, wearing dark glasses, sits front and centre of the audience of the inaugural meeting of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy, held on 8th September 1951 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He sits upright, leaning forward slightly, his arms resting lightly on his knees with his hands loosely curled, portraying …
The “Grandfather” of New Zealand Physiotherapy
In 1921, when the presence of men within the massage profession was still largely frowned upon, Matthew Guinan was the 77th masseur to be registered with the New Zealand Masseurs Registration Board. His registration was granted under the Board’s amnesty for anyone who had practiced as a masseur in New …