I have a headache: 2000 BC: Here, eat this root. 1000 AD: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer. 1850 AD: That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion. 1940 AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill. 1985 AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic. 2015 AD: That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root. (Adapted from post originally published here). … [Read more...] about A short history of medicine
Connectivity #4 – The philosophy of connectivity
This post is part of a new project for the Critical Physiotherapy Network. If you want to know more about the project, track back to this post.Connectivity is about connections. Surprising, I know, but there it is. What makes it interesting and novel as a theory is the philosophy that underpins it. Firstly it is ontological. It is about being, so naturally there is a semblance of phenomenology in the complex assemblage of ideas that underpins it. But this is not the phenomenology of Heidegger, more the later phenomenology that emphasises the importance of intersubjectivity. (For more on this idea, there is a post coming up in a few days with an interview with Jens Olesen who's … [Read more...] about Connectivity #4 – The philosophy of connectivity
Connectivity #3 – Connectivity and physiotherapy
This post is part of a new project for the Critical Physiotherapy Network. If you want to know more about the project, track back to this post.Connectivity, as I see it, is about the way people use mediating technologies to engage meaningfully in the world. Connectivity is about real life, real people's abilities, real problems - the very things that physiotherapists face every day. In some ways, it's nothing new to physiotherapy, but it carries with it the possibility of a radical revision of our purpose and function as a profession. Here are some thoughts on how connectivity might enhance and/or challenge our practice. Physiotherapy has always followed a reductive biomedical model … [Read more...] about Connectivity #3 – Connectivity and physiotherapy
Connectivity #2 – Connectivity explained
This post is part of a new project for the Critical Physiotherapy Network. If you want to know more about the project, track back to this postFirst off, a qualifier...connectivity is a complex subject. It would be very hard to sum it up in a few hundred words. My task here is to outline how I understand it in a way that brings other people in to the discussion. Apologies if this explanation misses the mark for you...by all means feel free to offer up your own interpretations in the comments box below. Having argued in the last post that the two prevailing models of disability (the medical and social) rely on the idea that the disabled person is 'other,' connectivity is striking … [Read more...] about Connectivity #2 – Connectivity explained
Connectivity #1 – Critique of the medical and social models of disability
This post is part of a new project for the Critical Physiotherapy Network. If you want to know more about the project, track back to this post.One of the best ways I know to understand connectivity is as a powerful critique of both the medical and social models of disability. The medical model of disability is based on the premise that you are disabled if you have an impairment. You are disabled, for example, if you are blind, have lost sensation down the left side of your body, or have chronic lung disease. By contrast, the social model of disability works from the assumption that it is not impairments that are inherently disabling, but social environments that present barriers to … [Read more...] about Connectivity #1 – Critique of the medical and social models of disability
Interview with Jenny Setchell
Every so often we profile a member of the Critical Physiotherapy Network to find out a bit more about them and their work. In this 'interview' we asked Jenny Setchell, PhD candidate, Pilates instructor, yoga teacher and circus trainer/performer about the inspiration behind her research. Jenny works at Performance Rehab in Brisbane, Australia and has been a member of the CPN since its inception. You can find Jenny's CPN member profile here What made you look at physiotherapy and weight stigma in the first place? I have always been interested in stigma and oppression and as a physiotherapist never felt like there was a place for me to discuss this in my profession beyond one-on-one … [Read more...] about Interview with Jenny Setchell