Category: Research
The Lingiad
An international gymnastics display, with 7,399 participants from twelve countries, was held in Stockholm in 1939 to commemorate the centenary of the death of Per Henrik Ling (1776–1839), the founder of Ling gymnastics (Meckbach & Lundquist Wanneberg, 2011). The ‘Lingiad’ enabled the participants to experience a celebration comparable to the …
The Lumbar Shift Correction
Understanding how manual therapy techniques evolve over time deepens our grasp of clinical reasoning and safe application. Lumbar shift correction, also called lateral shift correction or “pig shift” in informal clinical slang (because the position replicates that when carrying a pig on the hip) is a prime example. It’s not …
Prince of Physiotherapy
Arvid Kellgren was born in 1856, son of Captain Jonas Henrik Kellgren and younger brother of Henrik Kellgren – the ‘father of manual therapy’ (Ottosson, 2026). After graduating from high school in the rural town of Skara, Sweden in 1876, Arvid followed in his older brother’s footsteps and attended the Royal …
Physical Technique: Witness Seminar
Physical technique as a treatment method in physiotherapy: from core component to peripheral phenomenon. Report of the first witness seminar on physiotherapy. Original article provided in Dutch. Translated by Claude.ai Authors: Heleen Beckerman, chair of the witness seminar on Physical Technique; Anton de Wijer, initiator and organiser of the witness …
The Fall of Singapore
Following the First World War, Australia concluded that Japan’s expansionist ambitions in the Pacific posed the greatest threat to its national security. Britain was equally determined to protect its Asian territories — India, Burma, Malaya and Hong Kong — from Japanese encroachment. The Singapore Strategy In 1919 Singapore, strategically positioned …
How US Army Physical Therapy Pioneered Direct Access
The untold story of how war, necessity, and innovation transformed physiotherapy forever. When today’s US physical therapists evaluate a patient without a referral, few realise that the roots of this autonomy stretch back to the battlefields of the 20th century. Long before “direct access” became a catchphrase for professional independence, …
The Waning Touch of Massage
As old as humanity, massage reached its peak or ‘golden age’ in a seventy year period from the late 19th century through to the mid 20th century. Its rise is often attributed to Swede Pehr Henrik Ling, hence the term ‘Swedish Massage’, but it is more reliably attributed to Dutchman …
The Power of Historical Narratives
I had the good fortune to present recently at the AAOMPT conference in Reno, Nevada. The topic at hand related to how the modern scientific focus in physiotherapy is both strengthening our understanding of the mechanisms of manual therapy but weakening the standing of manual therapy compared to non-hands-on approaches. …
Earthquake in Pakistan
On the 20th Anniversary, a review of the impact of the 2005 earthquake on the physiotherapy profession in Pakistan. On 8 October 2005 an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 points on the Richter scale shook the hills and mountains of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistan. This devastating event was a …
The Swedish Golfing Society
On the evening of 26 March 1912, twelve Swedes met at the Golfers’ Club in Whitehall Court, London. They were invited to the meeting by Detlof von Braun to discuss the formation of a Swedish Golfing Society. At the time interest in sport was ever increasing. The previous Olympic Games …