On the 8th September 1951, delegates representing seventeen national physiotherapy associations met in Copenhagen, Denmark to establish the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT); now World Physiotherapy. Seventy-five years later it represents more than 600,000 physiotherapists through 129 member organisations, …
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of World Physiotherapy (formerly the World Confederation for Physical Therapy – WCPT) on 8 September 2026, we’ve created a special 75-question challenge to put your knowledge of the profession to the test. Their are 5 …
On the 1st of January 1973, Jean Blair was appointed Associate Professor by the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand. She was awarded the honour, in the words of the Vice-Chancellor, “..on the grounds of her long and meritorious …
Vibration has been, and is still, used widely across physiotherapy. The speed of the vibration offers differing therapeutic benefits that can be targeted toward specific health conditions. Slow rhythmical rocking, via horseback (hippotherapy) or being sat upon a top loading …
The Executive Committee met on three occasions by Zoom teleconference in the first half of 2026. The current Executive Committee membership consists of Glenn Ruscoe, Chair (Australia) Sandra Schiller (Germany) Magda Fourie (South Africa) Cameron …
The Dutch History of Physiotherapy Foundation (SGF) has just released the first edition of their new SGF Magazine – available here. Physiotherapy has a rich history, and that history is constantly evolving. With this very …
Today, the biography of Dr Johan Mezger was presented at the Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam, by author Prof Dr Peter Jan Margry. The therapeutic gymnast and physician Mezger not only made a significant contribution to therapeutic …
Eliza McAuley was born on 1866 in Upper Plenty, Australia – a rural area just north of Melbourne, Victoria. Her background is unclear, with her father identified both as a farmer (McMeeken, 2016a) and a …
An international gymnastics display, with 7,399 participants from twelve countries, was held in Stockholm in 1939 to commemorate the centenary of the death of Per Henrik Ling (1776–1839), the founder of Ling gymnastics (Meckbach & …
Understanding how manual therapy techniques evolve over time deepens our grasp of clinical reasoning and safe application. Lumbar shift correction, also called lateral shift correction or “pig shift” in informal clinical slang (because the position …
Arvid Kellgren was born in 1856, son of Captain Jonas Henrik Kellgren and younger brother of Henrik Kellgren – the ‘father of manual therapy’ (Ottosson, 2026). After graduating from high school in the rural town of …
Physical technique as a treatment method in physiotherapy: from core component to peripheral phenomenon. Report of the first witness seminar on physiotherapy. Original article provided in Dutch. Translated by Claude.ai Authors: Heleen Beckerman, chair of …
On the 17th January 1890, 21-year-old Hugo Leschen of Adelaide, South Australia was travelling to Stockport on the North train. Just as the steam engine pulled into the station a commotion broke out in a …
While undertaking research of original documents and books at the Wellcome Collection in London a few months ago I came across a first edition of the famous book by Margaret Dora Palmer titled ‘Lessons on …
