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. 

A clinic without walls

Like many others, I started out in traditional physiotherapy settings with white clinic rooms, adjustable treatment tables and a gym. But over time, I began to feel increasingly disconnected from the people I was trying to help. Patients come into our world with their...

Come into action: A water project

How hard is it to come into action, specifically concerning environmental issues? If you're honestly planning to save the world, it could be pretty hard! Couldn't it? But even if you don't care about the environment on a daily basis in your job or have had training in...

Taking the first steps: Environmental Strategies for a Continuing Educational Institute

The McKenzie Institute International provides a postgraduate series of courses to musculoskeletal physiotherapists, chiropractors, and other health care practitioners around the globe. The Institute has Branches in 29 countries and has close to 100 faculty worldwide...

Reconnecting with nature helped me reconnect with myself and the world

During the worst years of my pain I became withdrawn and isolated, disconnected from the people, places, and experiences that mattered to me. My sole focus was pain and being rid of it so I could get on with my life and get back to being me. Back then, sitting was my...

If you have any thoughts, ideas or questions about environmental physiotherapy,
we would love to hear from you anytime

14 + 15 =