New Article Published
The International Physiotherapy History Association is pleased to announce that it has published an editorial in the journal Physiotherapy Theory …
Early Years of Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland
The first course in physiotherapy at the University of Queensland commenced in 1938. Like other programs in Australia and around the world, it was established in response to the shortage of trained masseurs to treat victims of recurrent poliomyelitis epidemics. Discussions regarding the establishment of a course had begun some …
Guy’s Hospital School of Physiotherapy, London
An Overview of the Origins and History 1888 to1992 During the early to mid-1970s I was privileged to work as a member of the physiotherapy staff at Guy’s Hospital London. Guy’s was founded in 1726 and is recognised as one of the great and famous hospitals in the United Kingdom …
A Profession for Middle Class Women
In 1986 Stephanie Short, a physiotherapist and sociologist, published an article in the Australian Journal of Physiotherapy titled, “Physiotherapy – A feminine profession”. Short argued that the female-dominated professions in health care are not as powerful as the male-dominated medical profession and that the key factor in shaping the discrepancies …
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 …
The State Institute for Physiotherapy and Massage in Dresden, Germany
(Translated by Sandra Schiller) Physiotherapy as a profession has different roots throughout Europe. Sweden pioneered medical gymnastics at the beginning of the 19th century. The initiator was Pehr Henrik Ling, a Swedish poet with a great love for nature and his country. The Royal Central Institute of Swedish Gymnastics was …
Researching the History of Physiotherapy in Saxony (Germany).
(Translated by Sandra Schiller) When I started research on the history of physiotherapy in Saxony for a talk I had been invited to give following German Reunification in 1990, I asked the state schools for physiotherapy in Leipzig, Zwickau and Dresden for any memorabilia they might have. One of the …
20+/20 Seminal Texts Announced
In 2023 we asked the physiotherapy profession which texts of the 20th century they believed have most influenced them. Our objective was to choose a top 20 but because there were so many nominated, we’ve modified our criteria to be the top 20+. Discover the selected texts here. As hard …
Interview with an East German Specialist Physiotherapist
An interview with Brigitte Böttcher, former specialist physiotherapist for psychosocial medicine in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The distinct historical development of physiotherapy in the German Democratic Republic (1949 to 1990) has been neglected. For this reason, the experiences and memories of witnesses are crucial to learn more about this …
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 …
Asthma and Your Child
The book Asthma and Your Child was first published in 1963 by New Zealand respiratory physiotherapist Bernice “Bunny” Thompson. It focused on the need for well-targeted breathing and physical exercises in the management of children’s asthma. The book’s popularity continued through to subsequent editions, despite the introduction of metered dose …