Invited review: The influence of epidemics on the role of physiotherapists in rehabilitation

Abstract

Physiotherapists developed a strong reputation in rehabilitation therapy after the Great War in the early part of the 20th century. These skills were transferred to the management of children and adults during the global poliomyelitis epidemic which followed. Physiotherapists such as Miss M Manthel, a graduate from the Otago School of Massage, developed innovative ways of managing huge workloads as well as providing best practice in their rehabilitation programmes which she described in a letter to the Editor, New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, in 1938. Seventy five years on, the primary health epidemics that face the world are no longer caused by viruses but by diseases of lifestyle. These non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – namely cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes – kill three in five people worldwide and the socioeconomic impact associated with NCD morbidity and mortality is huge. Other epidemics are also placing demand on rehabilitation services and are likely to continue into the future. They include obesity, and the explosion in the numbers of people living into old age. This commentary explores these health epidemics and their impact on the physiotherapists’ role in rehabilitation over the past 75 years.