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. 

Et si promouvoir l’activité physique devenait un levier de santé durable ?

Face à l’urgence climatique et aux inégalités sociales croissantes, les professionnel·les de la santé et du social se retrouvent à un carrefour décisif : comment soigner les populations humaines tout en prenant soin de la planète, qui elle-même influence notre santé ?...

Centering (climate?) justice in physiotherapy

In the two decades that I have been a member of this profession, I cannot recall an instance when justice was a central topic for physiotherapists. With many physiotherapists self-conceptualizing as experts of movement or physical function, maybe this oversight is...

Rethinking geography as a barrier to rural health outcomes

One of the magical things about living in a rural place is our geography. We love where we live and have the privilege of being close to nature most of the time. I am really lucky to live in the beautiful coastal town of Port Macquarie, Australia. We are known for our...

Monkey business – Pain in humans and other animals

As a veterinary and human physical therapist and wildlife rehabilitator, specialised in primates, I am intrigued by the differences and (more interesting) the similarities between species. When it comes to pain, there’s a large variety in behaviours. This variety in...

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