This is a collection of our latest and greatest content from our talented writers.
Tag: Featured

Marathon Man
The grandson of enslaved parents, Ted Corbitt (1919-2007) was born on a cotton farm near Dunbarton, South Carolina, USA. He recalls a childhood of running for pleasure and for the sheer necessity of getting around. Corbitt ran track events in high school and later at the University of Cincinnati. Surrounded …

Request for help: The Historical Genesis of Manual Therapy
This post comes from Cameron MacDonald, IPHA Exec member, who trained originally in Australia and has been a practicing clinician and researcher in the USA. Cameron is currently working on a Ph.D. provisionally titled: Identifying the basis of manual therapy for the physiotherapy, chiropractic, medical and osteopathic professions: Is there …

Fysiotherapie in perspectief, 50 jaar verleden – heden
Physiotherapy in Perspective, 50 years past – present The Stichting Gescheidenis Fysiotherapie (SGF) (History of Physiotherapy Foundation) of the Netherlands, through 2018 to 2021 published a series of short historical articles in the journal PhysioPraxis. The series was titled “Physiotherapy in Perspective, 50 years past – present”. With great thanks …

Introduction of General Management into the UK NHS – CSP Response
The introduction of General Management into the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK) which commenced in 1983/1984 was one of the most extensive and radical sets of changes to have taken place in the Service during its 73-year history. Arguably, the Griffiths recommendations which brought general management …

PNF in Short
Initially termed ‘proprioceptive facilitation’ by Dr Herman Kabat in the early 1940’s, physical therapist Dorothy Voss added the word ‘neuromuscular’ to give us the now familiar Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). Kabat’s conceptual framework for PNF came from his experience as a neurophysiologist and physician, and the works of Sister Elizabeth …

Three recent books on the history of the physical therapies
In the history of physiotherapy, there’s been precious little work on the cultural history of the physical therapies themselves. But over the last few months, a few pieces of popular science writing have tackled subjects that are close to our hearts. Bill Hayes’ book Sweat: A history of exercise is …

100 Objects of Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a profession synonymous with its hands, however there is much equipment we also use. The 100 Objects of Physiotherapy project aims to tell a story of the profession through the tools that it has used throughout its history. Some of the objects we’ve chosen are iconic, others are …

Time for Change
Fifty years ago the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) elected its first physiotherapist President. Previously the APA had always been presided over by a medical practitioner; which seemed perfectly natural when medical referrals were required for physiotherapy treatment. The 1970’s was a politically tumultuous period in Australia. After 23 years of …

The First 50 Years of the Australian College of Physiotherapy
The Australian College of Physiotherapists was established in August 1971, although the idea of a College was first suggested in 1955. The original vision was to develop a means of encouraging and recognising scholarly and original work carried out by members of the profession as there were no formal higher …

Significant Landmarks in UK Physiotherapy Through Official Memorobilia
Historical Notes and Personal Reminiscences 1994 was a significant date in the history of physiotherapy in the British Isles; it was the celebration of the Centenary of the founding of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). It was during the summer of 1894 that four nurses and midwives, Lucy Robinson, …