Category: Research

Mechanotherapy room, General Hospital, Mexico City, 1905.

The Physiotherapy Institutions of Mexico City

Prior to the turn of the 19th century individuals with lesser physical capacity from congenital diseases or acquired from work accidents, war wounds, etc., were commonly excluded from work and social environments because they were …

Netball in the playground of William Street Girls School, London. c1908. Note the wastepaper baskets used as goals.

On the Origins of Netball

The international game of netball can trace its popularity and codification to a unique college of Swedish gymnastics in the United Kingdom at the turn of the nineteenth century. The all-female college was also at …

Herz's apparatus for dorsal and palmar flexion of both wrists.

Dr Bum’s Famous Institute of Mechanotherapy

The term ‘mechanotherapy’ was introduced by Swedish physician Gustav Zander to define a method of treating certain illnesses through massage and exercise, particularly using mechanical equipment. The exercises were drawn from the work of countryman …

Depiction of a goniometer once used in physiotherapy procedures at the Clinical Department for Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Aids, Božidarevićeva 11, Zagreb, Croatia; source: personal archive of S. Schuster.

Goniometer: An Instrumental Revolution in the Transition from Profession to Physiotherapy Science

The goniometer, as a fundamental measurement tools in physiotherapy, has played a pivotal role in transforming the field from a manual profession into a scientifically grounded discipline. Its application has enabled the objectification of therapeutic …

Rosalind Paget. Courtesy of the Wellcome Collection.

Rosalind Paget: An Historical Overview and Appreciation, Part 2

Rosalind Paget was one of the original four founders of the Society of Trained Masseuses which later became the Incorporated Society of Trained Masseuses,  in 1920 the Chartered Society of Massage and Medical Gymnastics and …

Rosalind Paget. Courtesy of the Wellcome Collection.

Rosalind Paget: An Historical Overview and Appreciation, Part 1

Rosalind Paget was one of the original four founders of the Society of Trained Masseuses which later became the Incorporated Society of Trained Masseuses, in 1920 the Chartered Society of Massage and Medical Gymnastics, and …

Adolf Lorenz surrounded by children whose congenital hip dislocations he had successfully treated and whom he took to medical conferences as living proof. Photo: Archive of the Adolf Lorenz Association

The Bloodless Surgeon of Vienna

Adolf Lorenz was born in rural Austrian Silesia in 1854. His father was a harness maker and innkeeper. A smart boy, Lorenz was able to attend high school through the financial support of his uncle, …

Josephine McCormick, Critic ,1904.

My European Study Tour

In 1903 Australian proto-physiotherapist Josephine McCormick visited the principal physical culture institutes of Europe, in London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin. She also undertook courses of study with orthopaedists Professor Adolf Lorenz of Vienna, and Dr …

Harriet Elizabeth Rowell aka Harriet Elphinstone Dick

Australia’s First Physiotherapist

Physiotherapy emerged from nursing and hospitals in the United Kingdom, and later physical education and the military in the United States. In contrast, physiotherapy began in Australia in private practice. Migrants, predominantly British, brought their …

Hydrotherapy at the Institute

The Mexican Rehabilitation Institute, 1960 – 1983

The Mexican Rehabilitation Institute was founded in 1960 in Mexico City; responding to the social need for comprehensive rehabilitation for people with motor disabilities. The Institute was established as a civil society, receiving contributions from …

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