Tag: C19th
‘Essays on Massage History 1750 – 1950’: Book Review
As an adjunct health service or a junior partner to medicine, massage has oft lacked respect. So much so, that even its own history has remained poorly understood. Massage needed someone to come along to …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Embracing Bias in Physiotherapy History
Modern medical research dictates that studies with a potential for bias be identified and excluded from a systematic review. Historical research approaches dictate the opposite. The more bias that is present in a study, the …
Physiotherapy First
The phrase, “Physiotherapy First” could be interpreted as a call-to-action to prioritize physical treatments over pharmacotherapy and surgery. Use of the phrase is likely presumed to reflect the modern physiotherapy profession’s progression into primary care, …
Physiotherapy is Handling: Then and Now
The seminal paper “Physiotherapy is Handling” was presented by Joyce Williams at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) Founders’ Lecture at the CSP Annual Congress in 1985 and was reproduced in the Physiotherapy Journal in …
Britain’s Napoleonic Sailors and the Luxury of Physiotherapy
The physical therapies of massage, exercise, heat/ice, electricity, light, etc., have existed for thousands of years across all civilisations, but it was not until the 20th century that physiotherapy emerged as a significant and unique …