Think about how much time you spent learning about the 'normal' body in physiotherapy school. Think about how much time you spend in clinical practice assessing people to see what's 'abnormal.' And all of those clinical trials that develop sensitive, reliable and valid measures of activity, bodily function, movement and pain; all based on some universal notion of normality. Tests and measures have to assume that there is one universal normal for them to be universal. So, in principal, a score of 13 on the Modified Borg Scale means the same thing in Afghanistan as it does in Alaska, and a BMI of 28 is obese no matter where you live. Physiotherapists learn the principal of … [Read more...] about New: Normals
New: Stories
For reasons I've never really understood, physiotherapists seem really reluctant to tell their work stories. I'm not talking about the conversations we've all had with our partners, families and friends about interesting clinical problems we've faced or patients we've treated, but rather the kinds of things that give us pause to reflect on what we're doing, or make us think that there's a lesson here that others could share in. A long time ago, doctors, midwives, nurses and psychologists recognised the value of stories, giving birth to the whole idea of narrative-based medicine and the medical humanities. But physiotherapists have been slow on the uptake. The latest edition of the … [Read more...] about New: Stories
New: Activism
Many years ago, I was one of the first of the new student reps to attend the CSP’s annual Congress. Back then Billy Bragg was railing against the Miner’s Strike and the IR department of the CSP reigned supreme. It became obvious pretty quickly that people took Congress really seriously. The first motion I remember being discussed was a levy on member’s fees to raise funds for Nicaraguan Freedom Fighters. Sadly the motion went no further after being referred to Council, where it ended up disappearing like gold in the San Juan rivershed. Not long after the Congress I attended an Association for Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care meeting and was dismayed to hear the keynote … [Read more...] about New: Activism