Fun Facts - Physical Therapy Forum & Community

Physical Therapist were called “sjukgymnasts” in Sweden until 2014.

Folarin — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 13:24:22 +0000

Do you know that in Ancient Sweden, Physical therapists were not called Physical therapists rather they were given a name related to gymnastics because they used Physical therapy for the relief of pain from Gymnastics. They were called "Sjukgymnasts"

Sjukgymnasts means “someone involved in gymnastics for those who are ill.” In 1813, Per Henrik Ling, the “father of Swedish gymnastics,” founded the Royal Central Institute of Gymnastics. There, he instituted a system of exercises, manipulation, and massage for gymnasts, which is where the title “sjukgymnast” originated.

From Ancient Massage Therapy to wartime Reconstruction Aides, the history of Physical Therapy is as diverse and dynamic as the career itself!

In 2014, the name was changed from Sjukgymnasts to Physical Therapist.

Many of today’s Physical Therapy techniques are thousands of years old

Folarin — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 15:20:41 +0000

Do you know that many physical therapy techniques date back as far as 400 B.C? Greek physicians Hippocrates, Plato, and Galen are believed to be among the first advocates of massage and hydrotherapy, and this can be linked to the techniques used in Today's Physical Therapy. Ancient writings from Persia, China, and Egypt describe the benefits of exercise, movement, and massage for ailments.

Although it is said that Physical Therapy started during World War1, but the Chinese, Egyptians, Greek, and Persian have been using several techniques used by the Modern Physical Therapist thousands of years ago to treat People.

Hippocrates known as the Father of Medicine and Plato who were both from an Island in Greece wrote about a specific Therapy called Hydrotherapy simply put as Water Therapy. They discovered that natural hot springs seemed to have healing properties. Specifically, the qualities of the water helped relieve skin diseases, and relax swollen joints and muscles and they built Thermals around hot springs. By 500 BCE in ancient Greece, physician Herodicus was prescribing manual therapy and exercise to treat pain and disease.

The Tao-Tse people of ancient China recorded some of the earliest instances of the “Cong Fu” therapeutic movement in 3000 BCE.

The Ancient Egyptians focused on energy Pathways and were all about correcting imbalances in blockages and restoring energy flow. This is similar to reflexology and many other Eastern modalities of massage. Elements of this type of massage are taught today in many massage therapy programs.

Women were the Pioneers of Physical Therapy in the United States.

Folarin — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:26:59 +0000

Physical Therapy was officially recognized as a Profession during World War 1 when Female Civilian Employees of the U.S Army were tasked with rehabilitating injured soldiers using primary massage techniques. They were called Reconstruction Aides or Re-Aides and were assigned to Physicians.

There were lots of challenges for the first Physical Therapists in the US, can you imagine your Physical Therapist working in a skirt?

Marguerite Sanderson heads the first Reconstruction Aides at the Division of Physical Reconstruction during the War. She led the political battle for proper uniformed attire by presenting her case to Senators and Congressmen about the practicality of allowing Reconstruction Aides to work in uniformed Bloomers rather than Skirts, but she lost.

In 1918, Mary McMillan became the first Reconstruction Aide and went on to develop the Physiotherapy Department at Walter Reed General Hospital, but the department was dismantled when the war was over.

After the war ended in 1921, Mary McMillian and her Colleagues formed the American Women’s Physical Therapeutic Association. McMillan was nominated President and is now known as the “Mother of Physical Therapy.”

Currently, in the U.S 64% of Physical Therapists are Women, with more Men joining the Profession.