Perhaps one of the biggest points of difference in current debates around the future of physiotherapy involves the question of whether physiotherapy should be evidence-based. It is self-evidence - so some say - that physiotherapy practice should be based on the best available evidence, since to practice otherwise might put people at risk, or damage the reputation of physiotherapy as a science. One of the less-well-often discussed issues with this argument is how much people - and by this I mean the public, our professional colleagues and peers, and the organisations that fund us and legislate for us - actually care whether some therapeutic practices are evidence-based. An article … [Read more...] about The politics of touch
New: Old ideas
It is an old cliche, but there is rarely anything entirely new in the world, and sometimes some of the newest and most exciting innovations are merely reinventions of old ideas. Over the last few days, a story has appeared in the news of a young All Black rugby player who, only a few weeks ago, fractured his leg in a game. The story is newsworthy for two reasons: (a) the Rugby World Cup starts in a few days time, and (b) he is only being considered to be fit to play because of a rather unusual remedy. Waisake Naholo’s recovery from a fractured fibula has been reported widely around the world, because he chose to return to Fiji to be treated by his local doctor, Isei Naiova, who had … [Read more...] about New: Old ideas