Tag: Manipulative therapy
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 …
The Bloodless Surgeon of Vienna
Adolf Lorenz was born in rural Austrian Silesia in 1854. His father was a harness maker and innkeeper. A smart boy, Lorenz was able to attend high school through the financial support of his uncle, a monk, and later self funded through his own tutoring. He graduated from the medical …
How Australian Chiropractors Transformed World Physiotherapy
Osteopathy was devised in 1870s America by Dr Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917) and chiropractic some twenty years later by David Daniel Palmer (1845-1913). Both utilised a structural perspective to explain and treat functional disturbances. Over the years, orthodox medicine viewed such practices with disdain. The wide variance in training, lack …
When Giants Collide: The Birth of Manipulative Physiotherapy
The following article is based on an article titled “History of IFOMT” by David W Lamb, Freddy M Kaltenborn and Stanley V Paris. The three authors were pioneering leaders in their field and drivers of the formation of the, now known as, International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT). …
The Bonesetters of Brittany
In the Brittany (Western France) of yesteryear, there was a dearth of medical doctors practicing in the rural areas and when one could be found, his professional services were rarely affordable. Traditional healing treatments and remedies were therefore widely used; one of the local healers most commonly consulted was the …
Forty Years of Dutch Manual Therapy
Introduction The 40th anniversary of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Manuele Therapie (NVMT) in 2021 was a trigger for this historical review by Huub Vossen and Anton de Wijer. Their writings were translated to English via an online translation application and edited by Glenn Ruscoe. The genesis of manual therapy As …
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 …
Mobilising a Profession: Geoffrey Maitland
…Maitland’s emphasis on very careful and comprehensive examination leading to the precise application of treatment by movement and followed in turn by the assessment of the effects of that movement on the patient, form the basis for the modern clinical approach. This is probably as close to the scientific method …
Recognising 200 years of international orthopaedic manipulative physical therapy
Following on from last week’s post on Kay Nias’s presentation on the history of massage, this week we have a pdf of some of Cameron MacDonald’s work on the history of orthopaedic manipulative physical therapy. For more information, contact Cameron here. Recognizing 200 years of International OMPT Practice pdf
Robin McKenzie: History’s Greatest Physios – People’s Choice Award
Robin McKenzie has received many awards, honours and titles during his career, and added to them is the International Physiotherapy History Association’s History’s Greatest Physios – People’s Choice Award. The Award is based on the greatest number of nominations for inclusion in the list of History’s Greatest Physios. Robin Anthony …
