There has been a flurry of interest in the value of exercise as a therapeutic remedy in some sections of physiotherapy social media in recent months. Some of this, at least, appears to be a reaction to what have been called 'passive' treatments, and a neoliberally-inspired desire to see people take more responsibility for their future health and well-being. Exercise is clearly a very valid and appropriate intervention for some people. It has been for as long as human civilisation has walked erect, and it almost certainly will continue to be useful into the future. But a recent special edition of the journal Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health has cast doubt on some of … [Read more...] about Exercise is medicine
Physiotherapy and the zone of play
I'm doing a public lecture next week on physical therapies in the 19th century (you will be able to see a live feed or delayed broadcast of it here if you're interested in hearing about it), and the whole project has been fascinating. One thing that occurred to me doing the preparation for the talk was how many images there are of people sitting in mud baths and hot springs. There was never any real proof that these things did anything other than warm you up, but there was a lot of anecdotal evidence that they were used to treat all sorts of diseases, from syphilis to sciatica, asthma to psoriasis. Suffice to say, in 19th century New Zealand, hot pools were a natural phenomenon, … [Read more...] about Physiotherapy and the zone of play
Childhood obesity, play and critical thinking
One of the most important functions of critical thinking is to go 'against' the prevailing wisdom: to go against convention; to think the impossible or the unreasonable; to entertain the possibility that our present way of thinking is neither the best or most appropriate way. One way to do this is to look back to a time when people thought otherwise and to ask whether we are necessarily smarter today, or just different. This is not easy to do. Thinking against conventional wisdom immediately puts you in a minority position and opens you up to the easy dismissal of the comfortably popular. But that's exactly why critical thinking is so important, because it is directed at tomorrow, not … [Read more...] about Childhood obesity, play and critical thinking