All posts by Dave Nicholls

Dave Nicholls is a Professor of Critical Physiotherapy in the School of Clinical Sciences at AUT University in Auckland, New Zealand. He is a physiotherapist, lecturer, researcher and writer, with a passion for critical thinking in and around the physical therapies. David is the founder of the Critical Physiotherapy Network, an organisation that promotes the use of cultural studies, education, history, philosophy, sociology, and a range of other disciplines in the study of the profession’s past, present and future. He is also co-founder and chair of the International Physiotherapy History Association Executive, and founding Executive member of the Environmental Physiotherapy Association. David’s own research work focuses on the philosophy, sociology, and critical history of physiotherapy, and considers how physiotherapy might need to adapt to the changing economy of health care in the 21st century. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, many as first author. His first book – The End of Physiotherapy (Routledge, 2017) – was the first book-length critical history of the profession. A second sole-authored book – Physiotherapy Otherwise – was published in early 2022 as a free pdf/eBook (available from https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/tuwhera-open-monographs/catalog/book/8). He was co-editor on the first collection of critical physiotherapy writings – Manipulating Practices (Cappelen Damm, 2018) – and was the lead editor for the follow-up – Mobilising Knowledge (Routledge, 2020). He is also very active on social media, writing weekly on contemporary critical physiotherapy issues (criticalphysio.substack.com). He has taught in physiotherapy programmes in the UK and New Zealand for over 30 years and has presented his work around the world.

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

Physiotherapy history at WCPT: Pictures and Stories

The International Physiotherapy History Association has been running for more than a year now, and we have had an executive committee in place since October, so we are nearly a year old as a formal organisation. We have a wonderful new website (now available in more than 20 languages) which

Remembering Brian Davey

We heard last week of the recent death of Brian Davey. I had the good fortune to interview Brian as part of the centenary celebrations for New Zealand physiotherapists in 2013, and it was only here that I got to understand the full breadth of his work and his service

Interview with Joan McMeeken

Last week I spoke with Professor Joan McMeeken about her recent book Science in Our Hands: Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne, 1895–2010. Joan is the Foundation Professor and was Foundation Head of the School of Physiotherapy and Associate Dean Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of

A brief history of Brazil’s Federal Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy (English & Portuguese)

The aspiration in forming the Council was to create a federal entity that would act as ethical and social regulator of the profession, whose advent resulted from the work of the Brazilian Association of Physical Therapists together with local associations and state leaderships. Initially linked to the Ministry of Labor

The history of work

Work

Physiotherapy is inextricably linked to work; to returning people back to productive labour or meaningful activities.  As an important cog in the health services of many countries around the world, physical therapies have proven a powerful and effective way to rehabilitate people who have been ill and injured and maintain their

Physiotherapy history as a tool to identify the ‘soul’ of the profession

“Critique needs friction or a kind of dialogue. Existing reality must be confronted with strangeness and the historically different can assume the function of this counterpart, meaning present and past must continuously be set in relation to each other”. This quote comes from a recent paper by Thomas Foth, Jette Lange and

New book: The Oxford Handbook of Disability History

The Oxford Handbook of Disability History (link) Michael Rembis, Catherine J. Kudlick, and Kim Nielsen, eds. Table of contents Part I. CONCEPTS AND QUESTIONS 1. The Perils and Promises of Disability Biography – Kim E. Nielsen 2. Disability History and Greco-Roman Antiquity – C.F. Goodey and M. Lynn Rose 3. Intellectual Disability

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The Massage Robot (c.1931)

“Most of us know how valuable massage is for our limbs but most of us also know what a tiring job it is – too! “Here’s a novel pneumatic massage machine, that envelops the patient like a diving suit, and massages the body by means of air impulses circulating through

Become a contributing author for IPHA

Become a history.physio contributing author

With the new history.physio website, we’re looking to have contributions from across the whole physiotherapy community. Each month we’d like to publish a short piece from 8 to 10 IPHA members who would be our regular contributing authors. We’d provide full editorial support and promotion, and in return give you

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