Launch of the Biography of Dr Johan Mezger by Prof Dr Peter Jan Margry
Today, the biography of Dr Johan Mezger was presented at the Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam, by author Prof Dr Peter Jan …
Karolina Widerström: Champion of Women’s Health and Rights
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 physiotherapist at the Royal Central Institute for Gymnastics from 1873 – 1875. She then worked …
James Cyriax: Villain or Hero?
James Henry Cyriax was born in London in 1904 into a distinguished family of gymnastic directors — Swedish educated physiotherapists who combined physical education and manual therapy. His maternal grandfather, Jonas Henrik Kellgren (1837–1916), was a renowned figure at the Royal Central Institute of Gymnastics (RCIG) in Stockholm. Kellgren had …
Stretching the Latissimus Dorsi Muscle. c 1906. Wikimedia Commons
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. …
Her story
In the late 19th century, the medical world was turbulent, competitive, and surprisingly entrepreneurial. Among the more transformative developments was the rise of mechanical medicine—manual techniques, movement therapies, and massage—that challenged the conventional drug-based treatments (pharmacology) of so-called orthodox or regular medicine. While attention has been paid to the professionalisation …
Statue Returned
Stolen Statue
In 1812, the Swedish government approved Pehr Henrik Ling’s application to teach gymnastics in Stockholm and receive a salary and premises through state assistance. Ling had developed a comprehensive system that included pedagogical (physical education), aesthetic (dance), military (fencing) and medical (physiotherapy) gymnastics; with the purpose of raising the physical …
Royal Central Institute for Gymnastics
In the early 1800s as the Napoleonic Wars were reshaping the European map. Sweden had Finland and its’ eastern provinces ceded to Russia, and to the west the Swedish-Norwegian union occurred. It was shock to the previously dominant nation. The Swedish government was in chaos and there was a growing …
Molly Levy – Mother of South African Physiotherapy
Integrity, exactitude, knowledge and wisdom, are appropriate adjectives for Molly Levy, foremost among the women who might qualify for the title “Mother of South African Physiotherapy” Like many South Africans in the early years of the profession, Kate Molly Levy (nee Limerick) travelled overseas to qualify – in her case, …
King Kellgren: The Father of Manual Therapy
In a newly published book, titled The Lost Origins of Osteopathy and Chiropractic in European Mechanical Medicine and Physical Education, C. 1800-1950 author Anders Ottosson argues that osteopathy, chiropractic, orthopaedic medicine and orthopaedic manual physical therapy all have a common origin – early Swedish physiotherapy. Whilst manual therapy is as …
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 …