Background: Education is a refining process for any individual; with genetic constitution and the development as initial capital and on-going learning added to it, a person achieves by their appropriate application to the surroundings. Coming to professional education, demands become more critical. Health being a constitutional obligation of the Government, health education assumes an official concern. Ministry of Health bears the duel responsibility of health services and the health educatio... Read More

Physiotherapy in India is entering into 6^th decades. Physiotherapy education in India has been evolving along with the profession. The course that began as a diploma and has moved on to become a bachelor degree initially of 2 years duration and then of 3 & ½ years duration in 1977 when internship was first introduced as a component of the course completion. It has then transitioned to a 4 & ½ years at a bachelor’s degree level. Today we have master and d... Read More

Physiotherapy has been widely accepted as an integral part of health care. Like other health care professions the metamorphosis of Physiotherapy education in the recent past has lead to an extent that some of the universities are offering Doctor of Philosophy in Physiotherapy. Physiotherapy was introduced to India in the year 1947 with a first physiotherapy setup established in Mumbai by Mrs Fatima Ismail. In 1953 the Physiotherapy school was started by Mr Jacques with the support of WHO at K... Read More

Physiotherapists work in a health care climate of rising complexity and rapid change, of economic restraint and demands for accountability, of scrutiny from both internal and external sources. In such a climate, the ability to respond appropriately to these pressures is critical, not only for professional growth but also for professional survival. New generations of physiotherapists emerging from professional programs require more than a solid foundation of clinical skills. They require an ed... Read More

The continuous professional development (CPD) programmes of health care professionals have gained momentum throughout the world. The rapid explosion of knowledge and development of technologies make it quite essential for a practicing professional to regularly upgrade the knowledge. The professionals serve the society and it is expected that if they keep abreast of the recent knowledge and skill they would offer better care to the client group. The ultimate aim of CPD is to improve healthcare... Read More

Dr.Rau, Please share your professional journey in the field of physiotherapy in brief with our reader?

I had passed my diploma in PT from the institute for the physically handicapped (IPH) New delhi in the year 1976. That was a time when degree courses were only in Mumbai and Nagpur. Thereafter I joined SVNIRTAR in 1977 and in the year2003 completed a bridge course in PT to upgrade my qualification to became eligible for the P.G. Programmed. After  having completed the graduati... Read More

Teaching is considered as a noble profession and so is Physiotherapy or Physical Therapy (PT). The objective of this article is to provide an evidence-based update on the roles of a teacher/ educator in physical therapy from being a student for life and to learn forever, being a good companion to enhance teacher-student communication and peer-peer learning, and to be a successful mentor to inspire and lead by being an example. The three goals for teaching are intertwined and explained in rela... Read More

Learning is a lifelong process and it enables us to face various situations in life in an easier way. Have you ever tried to learn something fairly simple, yet failed to grasp the key ideas? Or tried to teach people and found that some were overwhelmed or confused by something quite basic? If so, you may have learning preference and those of your instructor or audiences may not have been aligned. When this occurs, not only is it frustrating for everyone, the communication process breaks down ... Read More

Alternative Therapy: Alternative therapies in health and medicine are becoming more and more popular as people are becoming more aware that what they put into their bodies and minds have a major effect on their physical, mental and spiritual being. Alternative Therapy is any healing practice "that does not fall within the realm of conventional therapy". It is frequently grouped with complementary therapy. Although heterogeneous, the major Complementary or Alternative Therapy systems... Read More

Piriformis Syndrome (PS) is familiar to most physiotherapists and other professions that deal with muscle dysfunction and pain.  It is described as tightness in the piriformis muscle (PM) causing pain in the buttock, which may also contribute to sciatica, especially if the sciatic nerve traverses through the muscle, as it does in a percentage of the population.  My purpose in writing this article is not to review PS, but rather to go beyond it in describing a test and treatment that... Read More

Kinesiology taping in orthopedic conditions:  Pain has been a common clinical feature in all soft tissue injuries.  Pain relief by Kinesiological application is by the mechanism that it can create space in the underlying structures which takes the stress off and in turn the pain producing receptors are inhibited. The glue in the tape is activate on repeated rubbing which can also help reliving pain by stimulating the a-delta fibers carrying the pain sensation.  Muscle activatio... Read More

For ages, Indian students have been migrating to foreign lands for higher education. Some of the great founders of our nation including Mahatama Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar received their further education from foreign shores. In addition, Indians, hard working as they are, have successfully established themselves in Europe, Africa, North and South America and Australia. Indians have risen to high level professional status becoming CEOs and Directors of global brands and risen to high political ... Read More