Lessons on Massage
While undertaking research of original documents and books at the Wellcome Collection in London a few months ago I came …
A Royal Charter
The original roots of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) in the United Kingdom date back to the foundation of the Society of Trained Masseuses (STM) in 1894. In 1900, the Society was incorporated by the Board of Trade by Licence under the then Companies Act of Parliament to become the …
Dr Koch’s Emasculation and the Birth of Physiotherapy
The formation of the Society of Trained Masseuses (STM) by four British nurses in 1894 is often opined as the beginning of the physiotherapy profession (Ottoson, 2015). In support, physiotherapy historian and critical thinker Dave Nicholls (2016) said on the subject, ..physiotherapy must be seen to begin when the question …
Executive Half Year Report – June 2025
The Executive Committee met on three occasions by Zoom teleconference in the first half of 2025. During this period we farewelled Ryan McGrath (Australia) and welcomed new member Ken Miller (USA). The current Executive Committee membership consists of Glenn Ruscoe, Chair (Australia) Sarah Marshall (Canada) – leave of absence Sandra …
American Physical Therapy Before the War
The commonly accepted premise of the origins of the physical therapy profession in the United States is that it began in response to the First World War (Hansson & Ottosson, 2015). This understanding has likely arisen from the hegemonic American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) focussing its historical work on its …
Dubious Electrotherapy
The word physiotherapy was used by many different practitioners in the first part of the twentieth century; including French physicians, American electrotherapeutists and later British radiologists as medical radiation was first grouped with electrotherapy. The word physiotherapy was also also used by ‘cultists’ like chiropractors and osteopaths, and untrained laypersons …
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 considered incapable of contributing to society. Medical care for this type of population was seen …
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 the heart of the development of both the physical education and physiotherapy professions. Women’s Basketball …
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 Pehr Henrik Ling, but the equipment was Zanders, and in 1865 he opened the world …
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 procedures through quantitative assessment of the range of motion, thereby opening the door to systematic …
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 ultimately, in 1944 the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. She was the first Chair of Council …