Physiotherapy has needed an international association dedicated to the environment for some time, and not only because we now have social media that allows us to connect across the globe, but because life on our planet is imperilled. The climate crisis now facing us is beyond doubt, and everyone - especially those with the kinds of social capital held by physiotherapists - has a responsibility to act. Physiotherapy has always been a ‘low carbon’ profession, and the environment has always been a part of our work, but it has never been celebrated overtly before, or thought of as a place where our work can make a significant impact. We hope that is about to change. Last month Filip … [Read more...] about Launching the NEW Environmental Physiotherapy Association
Research update: Lifelong activity, chronic pain, therapatients, children’s embodiment, prostheses and body image
A few interesting new research studies have come out this week that I thought might be of interest. Each of these has some interesting connections with critical physiotherapy. Click on the links in the title of each article for more information. Characteristics of lifelong physically active older adults Sheryl L. Chatfield Abstract Most adults in developed countries fail to accrue enough regular physical activity to prevent or decrease the impact of chronic diseases associated with aging. I conducted semistructured interviews with 16 purposely selected older adults ranging in age from 53 to 70 years to explore the practices of successful lifelong adherents to physical activity. I … [Read more...] about Research update: Lifelong activity, chronic pain, therapatients, children’s embodiment, prostheses and body image
Social determinants of health – are we doing enough?
Physiotherapists don't generally think our profession is 'political.' We mostly work on people's bodies, in one-to-one sessions, and few of us use our social standing as respected, orthodox health professionals to campaign for community causes. There are no physiotherapy-specific models of population health, and subjects like primary health care and health promotion are only just beginning to appear in undergraduate curricula. So while physiotherapists are experts in the assessing and treating the body-as-machine, and we are increasingly interested in people lived experiences of health and illness, we are less aware of the social determinants of health. Social determinants are those … [Read more...] about Social determinants of health – are we doing enough?