It's sometimes reassuring to imagine that when the robots finally take over, and all of our mundane repetitive tasks are in the hands of automatons, we will still want and need the comforting touch of real people. I've argued as much myself, suggesting that the future for the physical therapies is assured because people will always want skilled, caring, thoughtful physical touch - the kind of touch no machine will ever be able to replace (Nicholls 2017). But what this argument misses is that its entirely possible for robots to replace physical therapies because they are robots. This point is explored in this beautiful short film by Oliver Schwartz, that explores the relationship a … [Read more...] about Very touching: Physiotherapy in the age of non-human companions
Meeting the human body
This post is a reblogging of a recent post by Jenny Wickford. Jenny is a Swedish physiotherapist with a special interest in looking at pelvic pain and dysfunction from a functional and movement-based perspective. Jenny's blogsite can be found here. I have had the rare opportunity to spend three courses totaling 22 days exploring the human body through dissection. These courses have, hands down, been some of the most powerful experiences I have had – personally and professionally. They have challenged much of what I have been taught, what I thought I knew. The forms, in their silence, have showed me life in a whole different light. I am a firm believer in the power of touch. Our … [Read more...] about Meeting the human body
The politics of touch
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
10 reasons to love physiotherapy
There is quite a lot of pessimism and negativity among healthcare professionals at the moment. Reduced funding, job cuts, professional encroachment and general uncertainties about the future are having a bad effect on people's health and wellbeing. So I thought it might be a good idea to take a moment to remember what makes physiotherapy so great. Not all of these things will be relevant to every physiotherapist, but most will. Physiotherapists: Touch people. Very few people can do this, and almost no others get to touch people for therapeutic reasons. Some touch to perform a procedure, others to care, but few touch to reduce pain, help move or build strength, flexibility and … [Read more...] about 10 reasons to love physiotherapy
Amy Hiller – Gnostic and pathic touch – 30DoS #20
Phenomenology of Practice (2014) written by Max van Manen incorporates aspects of the study of phenomenology. From page 272 there is discussion about the gnostic and the pathic related to touch occurring in the healthcare setting. Van Manen explains gnostic touch as the diagnostic, anatomized experience of touch. In contrast, pathic touch is described as touch with a special quality that conveys a healing attitude and relates to the individual as an embodied whole. When observing patient-physiotherapist encounters for my PhD research I became fascinated with touch as part of physiotherapy practice. I read Max van Manen’s writing about touch and his ideas resonated with what I had observed … [Read more...] about Amy Hiller – Gnostic and pathic touch – 30DoS #20
No sex please, we’re physiotherapists*
Late last week, the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand (PBNZ), released a statement titled Serious concerns about physiotherapists conduct (currently available on their website here, the full text is also reprinted at the bottom of this post). Tthe statement was prompted after the suspension of a New Zealand physiotherapist for being found guilty of professional misconduct reached the news. The male clinician was found guilty of having sex with a client (details here). He was subsequently fined $5,000NZD, ordered by the Board not to treat female patients, had his practice supervised every fortnight and complete a course about proper professional boundaries, but he was not struck … [Read more...] about No sex please, we’re physiotherapists*
Touching on something important
In a fantastic comment on my latest blogpost in this mini-series looking at the innate and largely unspoken sensuality of physical therapy, Eric Kruger posted up a video from Youtube which shows Ken Cole and Rajesh Khemraj in a tutorial looking at the SI Joint at a 2014 NAIOMT Annual General Meeting (link to the original post and Youtube video here). In the comment, Eric concentrated on the question of the power asymmetry that exists in therapeutic practice. I wanted to extend this discussion on a little here, so iIf you haven't read it already, I strongly advise looking at it before reading on. Lets take a moment to deconstruct the video Eric posted up a little. Here we have three … [Read more...] about Touching on something important
