All posts by Glenn Ruscoe

Glenn is a founder and current Chairman of the International Physiotherapy History Association. Clinically, he is an experienced Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist working privately in Perth, Australia. A strong advocate for the profession, Glenn has been heavily involved in leadership of state, national and international professional associations and regulatory boards. Currently he is Managing Director of the Registry Operator of the .physio domain top level extension. He is also a Councillor at the City of Nedlands.

Bonesetters of Brittany

Forty Years of Dutch Manual Therapy

Introduction The 40th anniversary of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Manuele Therapie (NVMT) in 2021 was a trigger for this historical review by Huub Vossen and Anton de Wijer.  Their writings were translated to English via

A Brief History of Physiotherapy in The Netherlands

Rise of Remedial Gymnastics and Massage in the 19th Century Physiotherapy, as it is now known, in the Netherlands has its origins in the first half of the 19th century.  The forerunners were healing gymnasts

Mental Health in Wales in the Early 20th Century

OT History Matters is seeking interest from Physiotherapy colleagues on a project about the history of mental health in Wales.  They have made contact with the IPHA and provided the information below: This note introduces

World Cup Physio Goes Down

The football World Cup is the most celebrated sporting event on the planet, with the 2018 iteration totaling 3.57 billion combined spectators. In its 92-year history there have been many terrific stories, but for one

Sister Kenny

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of her passing we will explore the life of this Australian ‘nurse’ whose work with polio victims opened the modern-day era of rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Whilst working in

Marathon Man

The grandson of enslaved parents, Ted Corbitt (1919-2007) was born on a cotton farm near Dunbarton, South Carolina, USA.  He recalls a childhood of running for pleasure and for the sheer necessity of getting around. 

Fysiotherapie in perspectief, 50 jaar verleden – heden

Physiotherapy in Perspective, 50 years past – present The Stichting Gescheidenis Fysiotherapie (SGF) (History of Physiotherapy Foundation) of the Netherlands, through 2018 to 2021 published a series of short historical articles in the journal PhysioPraxis. 

Maggie Knott and students learning PNF techniques

PNF in Short

Initially termed ‘proprioceptive facilitation’ by Dr Herman Kabat in the early 1940’s, physical therapist Dorothy Voss added the word ‘neuromuscular’ to give us the now familiar Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). Kabat’s conceptual framework for PNF

100 Objects of Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is a profession synonymous with its hands, however there is much equipment we also use. The 100 Objects of Physiotherapy project aims to tell a story of the profession through the tools that it

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

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