moving stories and images
Agnes Wenham, a physiotherapist who trained in Sweden and England, was a well-known character in the profession, especially in Johannesburg, where she practised for many years. She moved to South Africa from the United Kingdom as a young woman and worked …
It is rare to find physiotherapists writing about their experiences (Nicholls, 2021), which makes Olive Millard’s (1952) autobiography Under My Thumb so important. A summary of Millard’s professional career is written by Goldstone (2024) and is further summarised here: Becoming …
Before the restoration of Ukraine’s Independence in 1991, rehabilitation occurred within the Soviet paradigm, which set itself in opposition to Western ideology – not out of rational consideration, but out of the need to be different. Some of the key …
On the 8th September 1951, delegates representing seventeen national physiotherapy associations met in Copenhagen, Denmark to establish the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT); now World Physiotherapy. Seventy-five years later it represents more than 600,000 physiotherapists through 129 member organisations, …
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 …
On the 17th January 1890, 21-year-old Hugo Leschen of Adelaide, South Australia was travelling to Stockport on the North train. Just as the steam engine pulled into the station a commotion broke out in a …
While undertaking research of original documents and books at the Wellcome Collection in London a few months ago I came across a first edition of the famous book by Margaret Dora Palmer titled ‘Lessons on …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Modern massage is forever connected with two men: Pehr Henrik Ling and Johann Georg Mezger. Whilst Ling is credited as the founder of the Swedish system of exercise, which included massage, it was only ever …
Many non-physiotherapists have contributed to the advancement of the physiotherapy profession. Primarily they are in the form of other health professionals, like medical practitioners, nurses and exercise therapists, who challenge and progress the technical aspects …
The Executive Committee met on two occasions by Zoom teleconference in the second half of 2025. The current Executive Committee membership consists of Glenn Ruscoe, Chair (Australia) Sandra Schiller (Germany) Magda Fourie (South Africa) Cameron …
Karolina Widerström was born in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1856. Her father worked variously as an army veterinarian, a physiotherapist, and as a teacher. After attending a girls’ school in Helsingborg, Widerström herself trained as a …
