Tag: Canada
Physiotherapy First
The phrase, “Physiotherapy First” could be interpreted as a call-to-action to prioritize physical treatments over pharmacotherapy and surgery. Use of the phrase is likely presumed to reflect the modern physiotherapy profession’s progression into primary care, the growing physiotherapy research base of high value care, and the concomitant confidence accompanying them. …
The Other McKenzie
Within the physiotherapy profession the name McKenzie resonates with greatness. New Zealand musculoskeletal physiotherapist Robin McKenzie revolutionised the worldwide treatment of low back pain in the 1980s and his work continues today through the McKenzie Institute International. However there is another, less well known McKenzie, whose contribution to the profession of …
Greed, Jealousy and the Demise of Medical Physiotherapy
Before its adoption by laymen (or more correctly, laywomen) the word ‘physiotherapy’ was used by the medical profession to describe all of the physical agents, including the X-ray. In the 1920s, radiology became a unique medical specialty, but for a brief period in the nineteen tens and twenties it was …
Historical Electrotherapy Equipment on Display
Avid historians at McGill University, Canada have curated a display of intriguing physiotherapy equipment dating back to the Gaiffe Nerve Stimulator, c1860. Sarah Marshall PT Fellow, Faculty Lecturer, School of Physical & Occupational Therapy, and Rick Fraser, MDCM, Professor, Department of Pathology, Director of the Maude Abbott Medical Museum, and …
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 …
Giving back to her country: Canadian-Jamaican physio collaboration
By Gillian Woodford, The McGill Reporter; submitted by Sarah C. Marshall (with permission) Three decades after graduating from McGill, Dorothy Thomas Edding helped found Jamaica’s first and only university-based School of Physical Therapy, allowing aspiring physiotherapists to study and work closer to home. Back in the late 1950s a bright …
Canadians Inspired by History
Worldwide, due in part to the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the history of our profession is becoming a hot topic. We can draw inspiration from the beginnings of our profession, and model after early successes in answering the call for hard-working independent-minded health professionals. The beginnings of physiotherapy …
2020: The Centenary of Physiotherapy in Canada
Canadian physiotherapists are celebrating the centenary of the profession in Canada, this year: 2020! March 24, 2020 marks the precise 100th anniversary and will include: a kick-off of 100 days of giveaways for CPA members, one way of demonstrating the value of being a member of the professional association. Also …
A short history of scope of practice changes in British Columbia, Canada
The Physiotherapy History of British Columbia Project group in Canada recently had a discussion about the changing scope of physiotherapy practice in BC. These notes were prepared by Nancy Cho and Patricia Grohne. It would be interesting to see how these changes compare with what you have seen in your …
Interview with Patricia Grohne
Last week I spoke with Patricia Grohne about some of the work she has been doing with her colleagues to record and celebrate the history of physiotherapy in British Colombia, Canada. As well as this brief audio interview, Patricia has provided a brief ‘Story of the Physiotherapy History of British …