One of the biggest growth areas for physiotherapists in the coming years years will be the management of chronic illness. The numbers of people now living with conditions that were once relatively rare is quite staggering, and they are becoming more complex. A report released last week by the Australian Health Policy Collaboration (link) has once again highlighted the need for us to take a society-wide approach to managing the threats posed by conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and respiratory illnesses, through a concerted effort to tackle the 'upstream' causes: alcohol consumption, sedentary behaviour, high salt intake, smoking, etc. Obesity, diabetes, hypertension and … [Read more...] about Do you need a four-year degree to tell someone to stop smoking and do more exercise?
Pain or suffering?
For a lot of its advocates, and there are many, pain has become a touchstone for new kind of physiotherapy practice: a more holistic, complex and person-centred practice that is more in tune with the modern face of healthcare; a healthcare where people want more from their health professional than 15 minutes of interferential and a quick manipulation. Some of the pain specialists in our profession are treated like rock stars and their presentations are guaranteed to fill out venues whenever they speak. People like Lorimer Moseley and David Butler have built their careers on bridging the divide between science and practice, the profession and public, and finding ways to make pain … [Read more...] about Pain or suffering?