Celebrating World Physiotherapy Day 2022

Today is World Physiotherapy Day 2022, and we’re here to tell you why it matters.

World Physiotherapy Day 2022 – or World PT Day for short – is this year all about the role physiotherapists can play in the prevention of osteoarthritis and in the management of people affected by it. 

But what actually is physiotherapy? It’s not as simple a question as it might sound. Thankfully, the not-for-profit World Physiotherapy organisation is on hand to explain: “Physiotherapists have different titles in different countries: in many countries they are called physical therapists. Some countries have their own version of the word physiotherapist, such as kinesiologist, but they are all part of the same profession.

“Physiotherapists provide services that develop, maintain, and restore people’s maximum movement and functional ability. They can help people at any stage of life, when movement and function are threatened by ageing, injury, diseases, disorders, conditions, or environmental factors.

“Physiotherapists help people maximise their quality of life, looking at physical, psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing. They work in the health spheres of promotion, prevention, treatment/intervention, and rehabilitation.”

September 8 was designated as World PT Day in 1996; this is the date World Physiotherapy was founded in 1951. It marks the unity and solidarity of the global physiotherapy community, and an opportunity to recognise the work that physiotherapists do for their patients and community.

Kevin Teasdale is the physiotherapy manager at St Hugh’s Hospital. He’s been in the role for 10 years now and has a plethora of qualifications behind him.

“Physiotherapy is quite a varied autonomous profession,” he explained. “We see patients from all ages and backgrounds, and we treat almost any muscular and/or joint-related problem.

“The profession has evolved over the past 10 years and it’s now possible to develop skills to provide more holistic care, for example, referral for imaging. St Hugh’s has been keen to support this, and I have completed many postgraduate courses over the past 10 years. One of my main areas of development has been performance/objective testing to aid goal setting and achieving functional outcomes.”

As part of World PT Day, we are getting involved on social media using the hashtag #WorldPTDay by highlighting statistics from World Physiotherapy about osteoarthritis, its prevention, how to exercise safely if you have it, running and osteoarthritis, and busting myths around the condition. Check out our channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram throughout the day.