Advancing an environmentally responsible physiotherapy

 

The world faces complex and interrelated crises… Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, rapid urbanization, geopolitical conflict and militarization, demographic change, population displacement, poverty, and widespread inequity create risks of future crises even more severe than those experienced today. Responses require investments that integrate planetary, societal, community and individual health and well-being (WHO 2021 Geneva Charter for Wellbeing)

 

 The impact of human activities on our planet’s natural systems has been intensifying rapidly in the past several decades, leading to disruption and transformation of most natural systems. These disruptions in the atmosphere, oceans, and across the terrestrial land surface are not only driving species to extinction, they pose serious threats to human health and wellbeing. Characterising and addressing these threats requires a paradigm shift (Myers, 2017)

Action at the level of direct drivers of nature decline, although necessary, is not sufficient … a sustainable global future’ is ‘only possible with urgent transformative change that tackles the root causes: the interconnected economic, socio-cultural, demographic, political, institutional, and technological indirect drivers behind the direct drivers (Diaz et al., 2019)

About

An international community of academics, clinicians, practitioners and students interested in exploring and advancing the field of environmental physiotherapy. 

Blog

Follow our latest musings on environmental physiotherapy. Ideas, inspiration, news, publications, events, and more. 

Join

Become part of the first international community of physiotherapists with an interest in researching, developing, and practising physiotherapy at a planetary scale. 

Resources

A growing selection of resources carefully selected by members of the EPA to inspire your thinking and practice of environmental physiotherapy. 

How do you touch an impossible thing?

Here’s a question to ponder: When you think about the physical therapies — touch, movement, exercise, electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, and so on — do you naturally think about one human doing something to or for another? If you do, you’re not alone, because almost the...

Environmental Physiotherapy at the CSP Conference 2025

Thanks to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Environmental Physiotherapy will be featured prominently at the upcoming CSP Conference 2025 in Newport, Wales, from 21st to 22nd November.On Saturday 22nd November from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM we will run a symposium...

Participate in a survey on nature prescriptions in musculoskeletal rehabilitation

Participate in a survey on nature prescriptions in MSK rehabilitation In partnership with the Environmental Physiotherapy Association (EPA), research led by Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic and Nicole Struthers (MPT/PhD student) at Western University in Canada are conducting an...

Strategies for carbon footprint reduction in research and higher education

Building on insights into the carbon footprint of research and education, I am following my recent post with a list of actionable strategies to reduce ecological impact while maintaining the integrity of scientific inquiry and knowledge dissemination. From...

If you have any thoughts, ideas or questions about environmental physiotherapy,
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