by Marianne Eliassen | Mar 10, 2025 | Ageing, Environmental Physiotherapy, Nature-based interventions
Ageing is a natural part of life, but how we manage this phase can vary significantly depending on where we live. “Ageing in place” is a global strategy aimed at supporting older people to remain living in their own homes while maintaining connections with...
by Lia Evans | Feb 20, 2025 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Environmental Sustainability
I was initially drawn to the environmental aspect of the GB Row Challenge, I thought that collecting environmental DNA and microplastic data from the UK coastline was a genius way of giving reason and justification to the trip of a lifetime. I was unable to finish the...
by Joyeeta Gupta | Feb 9, 2025 | Equity, Planetary Health, SDGs
The Global Constitution Project / 2024 – 2029 Distinguished Professor Joyeeta Gupta of the University of Amsterdam, and winner of the Spinoza Award 2023, is undertaking a research project to write a Global Constitution. The aim of this draft Constitution is to...
by Caitlyn Socwell | Feb 3, 2025 | Circular Economy, Environmental Issues and Health Impacts, Environmental Physiotherapy, Environmental Sustainability, Transdisciplinarity
In 2018, my life was changed forever. My sustainable lightbulb moment happened whilst on a camping trip to regional Victoria, Australia in the Yarra Valley. My small group of friends and I sat on the bank of the Goulburn River at the back of a cherry tree farm –...
by Shaun Cleaver | Jan 27, 2025 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Events, Français, Québec, Regions
L’Ordre Professionnel de la Physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ) se montre engagé à faire avancer la physiothérapie environnementale. Lors de son congrès qui a eu lieu le 9 et 10 novembre dernier (Congrès Physiothérapie 360°), le comité organisateur a invité Shaun Cleaver,...
by Jessica Stanhope | Jan 20, 2025 | Biodiversity, Clinical Practice, Environmental Physiotherapy, Events, Nature-based interventions, Physiotherapy Research
I’m really excited to introduce the International Environmental Allied Health Journal Club! The purpose of the group is to support people interested in environmental health in staying up-to-date with developments in the evidence base, and to have interesting...
by Filip Maric | Jan 7, 2025 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Events, Practice, Regions
The beginning of 2025 marks the middle of the sixth year of the revolution that is environmental physiotherapy, with no signs of slowing down for the Environmental Physiotherapy Association. Next to countless other activities and lots of further collaboration and...
by Irina Fedulow Plante | Dec 10, 2024 | Wilderness PT
As the profession of physical therapy advances, clinicians are looking for creative ways to apply their skill sets. In recent years, wilderness medicine has been growing in popularity within the physical therapy realm. Wilderness medicine is characterized by remote...
by Srishti Banerjee | Nov 28, 2024 | Environmental Sustainability, Global warming, Physiotherapy Education, Physiotherapy Research
In the recent years as awareness of climate change and environmental degradation has heightened, so too has the scrutiny on human activities and their ecological footprints. Research and education are not exempt from their own environmental impacts. Laboratories hum...
by Filip Maric | Nov 18, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Events, Greenspace Exposure, Nature-based interventions, Physiotherapy Research
One year after the first-ever Environmental Physiotherapy Festival, we arranged an international online symposium on ‘Putting nature-based health and therapy into practice’. This symposium featured four 90-minute sessions with presentations by a wide...
by Srishti Banerjee | Nov 6, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Environmental Sustainability, Physiotherapy Education, Physiotherapy Research
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...
by Sibyl Edward | Oct 25, 2024 | Environmental Issues and Health Impacts, Environmental Physiotherapy, Global warming
How often have you heard a patient say, “This weather… oh, my arthritic knees”! Some patients say that with such conviction, but is there a correlation between weather changes and arthritic pain? Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by synovial inflammation, articular...
by Steffen Torp | Oct 15, 2024 | Advocacy, Environmental Physiotherapy, Greenspace Exposure, Nature-based interventions
Many physiotherapists recommend that their patients actively use nature to aid in recovery. It is important to engage in primary prevention and health promotion efforts to secure easily accessible natural spaces, such as old, pristine forests. This may include...
by Jessica Stanhope | Sep 30, 2024 | Clinical Practice, Environmental Issues and Health Impacts, Environmental Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Education, Physiotherapy Research, Planetary Health
In August 2019 the Environmental Physiotherapy Association was launched. In the last 5 years the Association has made huge progress in highlighting the links between the environment and human health, and the role of physiotherapy in protecting, improving and utilising...
by Saoirse McSweeney | Sep 19, 2024 | Active Transport, SDGs, Students in EPT, Urban Design and Sustainable Communities
Physical activity is a vital component of successful health promotion. Yet, Public Health England (2016) reported that the UK population is 20% less active than in the 1960s. Considering the significant consequences of inactivity, this is one of the country’s...
by Dana Tostenson | Sep 11, 2024 | Clinic Design, Clinical Practice, Environmental Physiotherapy
In physiotherapy, where the focus is on the patient’s pain, and restoring optimal function, there is a tendency for a myopic view of rehabilitation. While the greatest attention should be given on providing a quality assessment and intervention, the environment where...
by Berta Paz Lourido | Sep 5, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy
Decíamos anteriormente ¿Por qué yo? ¿Por qué tú? Tal vez debamos iniciar esta reflexión desprendiéndonos del nombre propio. Pero ya regresaremos a este punto. De momento, resulta más fácil referirnos al ámbito de lo abstracto, al término genérico, a lo que nos toca...
by Nicole Struthers | Aug 12, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Greenspace Exposure, Nature-based interventions
On January 25, 2023, my PhD supervisor sat me down and asked me to visualise what I would like to see created to support the use of nature-based interventions (NBIs) in healthcare. The image was clear: I wanted to see a handbook of NBIs, outlining different NBIs, the...
by Bodil Hansen Blix | Jul 30, 2024 | Ageing, Environmental Physiotherapy, Equity, Inclusion, Nature-based interventions
In the last decade, the Nordic countries have adopted policy strategies in response to population ageing. However, a recent study highlights a critical blind spot in these policies, concerning the older adults living in the arctic regions of Finland, Norway, Sweden,...
by Berta Paz Lourido | Jul 24, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Español
Cada acto consumado lleva inherente una pre-acción, la cual, en el mejor de los casos puede incluir un proceso reflexivo consciente. Esto es particularmente relevante en el ámbito de la educación, por lo que estas palabras intentarán, aunque sea de forma incompleta,...
by Amanda Maddern | Jul 3, 2024 | Biodiversity, EcoHealth, Environmental Issues and Health Impacts, Environmental Physiotherapy, Environmental Sustainability, Global warming, Greenspace Exposure, Planetary Health, SDGs
Between the dates of the October 6-8 2023, Brisbane, Australia became home of the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s national conference, IGNITE 2023. I was fortunate enough to attend this conference and was excited and inspired by the keynote presentation titled,...
by Nicole Struthers | Jun 27, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Nature-based interventions, Physiotherapy Research
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...
by Somaia Elmaky | Jun 25, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Nature-based interventions, Students in EPT
As one of the first events following the joining of the Qatar University Physiotherapy program at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences into the Environmental Physiotherapy Association’s EPT Agenda 2023 (now commencing it’s next, 2027 phase), a group...
by Jessica Williams | Jun 19, 2024 | Environmental Philosophies, Environmental Physiotherapy
As physiotherapists, we recognize that one of our primary concerns lies in the support of well-being, a concept that is typically viewed through an anthropocentric lens. As underscored by Ton Gevers in his EPA blog post on Actor-network theory, anthropocentrism places...
by Matt erb | Jun 12, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Global warming, Mental Health, Mindfulness
While the physiotherapy profession continues to grapple with how to address an entrenched split between mind and body in health care, we are facing an even larger challenge: a disconnect from the natural world. The concept of integrative health as applied to...
by Richard Doran-Sherlock | Jun 5, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Greenspace Exposure, Nature-based interventions
People working in healthcare, regardless of their training or profession, are often motivated in part by a fascination with complexity. This may be expressed through ‘holism’ whereby one paradigm or model claims to have a unique value in understanding the myriad...
by Rosanne Silvis-Ottevanger | May 29, 2024 | Clinical Practice, Community Health, Environmental Physiotherapy, Events, Nature-based interventions, Urban Design and Sustainable Communities
Kleine stappen, grote betekenis Duurzaamheid in de fysiotherapie overstijgt het eenvoudig verminderen van de ecologische voetafdruk van individuele fysiotherapeuten of praktijken. Het gaat ook om het smeden van een gezonde en veerkrachtige samenleving. Onze recente...
by epaadmin | May 14, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Events, Students in EPT
Nature is a masterpiece, a symphony of colors, sounds, and scents. There is no doubt that this beauty is fading over time. Isn’t it time to start making a difference in our environment? At Qatar university, we are increasing our efforts in implementing environmental...
by Ton Gevers | May 8, 2024 | Environmental Philosophies, Environmental Physiotherapy
Is changing our perspective of patients the place to start? At the first-ever Environmental Physiotherapy Festival 2023, I led a session on redefining the concept of the patient in physiotherapy, summarising key points from my October blog on Moving Earth (Gevers,...
by Shaun Cleaver | May 2, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Education
Le symposium des programmes d’ergothérapie et de physiothérapie (SAPEP) de l’Université de Sherbrooke a lieu chaque année au début de mai. Cet événement crée une opportunité pour l’École de réadaptation de réunir au campus des membres de l’école avec des personnes...
by Stephanie Molloy | Apr 30, 2024 | Environmental Justice, Environmental Physiotherapy
At the first-ever Environmental Physiotherapy Festival 2023, Erin Keough, Susan Czyzo and I came together to host a talk and discussion on the intersections of different justice areas, the environment, and healthcare, all while centering a Canadian perspective. We...
by Filip Maric | Apr 25, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Research, Planetary Health
Ever since the founding of the EPA, environmental physiotherapy has been growing from strength to strength. We have produced over 100 academic publications of different types, written over 130 blogposts in more than 10 languages, are producing extensive resources for...
by Glenn Ruscoe | Apr 18, 2024 | Clinical Practice, Environmental Physiotherapy, History of physiotherapy, Natural therapies
Historically, light treatment has roots in ancient Egypt, India, and Greece, as “heliotherapy” (natural sunlight) for the treatment of skin diseases. Modern phototherapy (artificial light) has its origins in the latter part of the 19th century, with the observation in...
by Charles Senay | Apr 2, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Nature-based interventions, Physiotherapy Education, Students in EPT
Many have published here their thoughts and experiences about bringing physiotherapy outdoors, in natural spaces or urban green spaces. But what is it about these spaces that can improve the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions? Is it as obvious as we might...
by Amy Wagenfeld | Mar 21, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Greenspace Exposure, Nature-based interventions, Occupational Therapy, Urban Design and Sustainable Communities
According to Mattessich and Monsey, interprofessional collaboration is a “a mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by 2 or more organizations to achieve common goals” (1992, p. 7). For many in allied healthcare, interprofessional collaboration...
by Takuzo Kimura | Mar 13, 2024 | Environmental Philosophies, Environmental Physiotherapy
At the first-ever Environmental Physiotherapy Festival 2023 I held a presentation beginning with a brief introduction on complex adaptive systems- a unifying area of study that encompasses information, evolution, neuroscience, and systems theories to shed light on an...
by Richard Rosedale | Mar 5, 2024 | Environmental Sustainability, Physiotherapy Education
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...
by Millie Kent | Feb 26, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Education, Students in EPT
When I told some of my peers that I was doing my dissertation on environmental sustainability in physiotherapy, I got lots of comments like “But… why?” or “Wow that’s very niche!” With a degree with such a high workload already, why would you add sustainability to the...
by Margit Nikoline Langballe | Feb 12, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Greenspace Exposure, Nature-based interventions
Trees are the lifeblood of the earth. Their roots run deep in the soil and resemble the veins and arteries of our planet, sustaining and nourishing the life of the ground around them. Their very existence helps to create oxygen that sustains most life on our little...
by Paul Beattie | Feb 6, 2024 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Nature-based interventions, Wilderness PT
Over the last few years, there have been several reports describing the role of PTs in wilderness environments (Beattie P, 2021 & 2022; Young B, 2022; Young SW, 2023). These publications describe how PTs are increasing their involvement in the prehospital care of...
by Esther Tobarra | Jan 22, 2024 | Planetary Health
¿Sabes cuáles son los límites planetarios? Tras el extraordinario progreso de las Ciencias de la Tierra y de los sistemas naturales durante las últimas décadas; en el 2009, un grupo de 29 científicos liderados por Johan Rockström comenzaron a definir lo que hoy se...
by Shaun Cleaver | Jan 8, 2024 | Aquatic PT and bluespace exposure, Clinical Practice, Environmental Physiotherapy, Greenspace Exposure, Nature-based interventions
As our understanding of the many different connections between physiotherapy and the environment continues to grow, and we advance research and education across the breadth of environmental physiotherapy (EPT), the many implications this has for physiotherapy practice...
by Sandra Hernegger | Dec 17, 2023 | Aquatic PT and bluespace exposure, Environmental Physiotherapy, Nature-based interventions, Students in EPT
Diving into the world of science for the first time did not feel much more different than jumping into ice-cold water for the first time. Both experiences are somewhat challenging and at the same time can be life changing for patients and physiotherapists. With this...
by Margit Nikoline Langballe | Dec 4, 2023 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Students in EPT
Students have been a critical part of the Environmental Physiotherapy Association since day one. The unquestionable passion of physiotherapy students wishing to learn how they can contribute to doing something positive for their environment as part of the profession...
by David Nicholls | Nov 29, 2023 | Environmental Philosophies, Environmental Physiotherapy
Given that the word therapy makes up half of our profession’s name, you might think physiotherapists would have developed a thorough understanding of the concept. But this is not the case. In fact, within the physiotherapy literature, there has been almost no...
by Susan Czyzo | Nov 10, 2023 | Environmental Physiotherapy, Mental Health, Mindfulness
As healthcare professionals, we’re intricately involved within a system that both grapples with the consequences, and contributes to the climate crisis problem. Whether we’re working in primary care, rehabilitation, education, policy, or other areas, we’re all...
by Oka Sanerivi | Oct 26, 2023 | Environmental Justice, Environmental Philosophies, Environmental Physiotherapy, Indigenous perspectives
In Aotearoa New Zealand (hereafter Aotearoa), upon the meeting of strangers with Māori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa), oftentimes you’ll hear the question “Ko wai koe?”, meaning “Who are you?”. The word ‘wai’ also translates to mean ‘water’. Thus for Māori, the...
by Ton Gevers | Oct 12, 2023 | Environmental Philosophies, Environmental Physiotherapy
Have you ever wondered who or what the patient truly is? In medicine, the patient is defined as “a person who is ill or undergoing treatment for a disease.” (Dictionary, 2023) Yet, in my opinion, this definition paints a narrow, one-dimensional portrait of the patient...
by Lotta Lundmark Alfredsson | Oct 4, 2023 | Clinic Design, Environmental Physiotherapy, Greenspace Exposure
Unicare Bakke is a rehabilitation centre that is beautifully located on the countryside, south of Halden in Norway. I started working there as a physiotherapist in 2000 and over the years I recognized that we didn´t use the beautiful outdoors and surroundings as much...
by Karime Mescouto | Sep 19, 2023 | Clinical Practice, Environmental Philosophies, Environmental Physiotherapy
If you are a healthcare professional like me, I am sure you have heard about the biopsychosocial model of health. This model was proposed by George Engel in 1977 to challenge the prevailing biomedical approach in psychiatry, as well as medicine, more broadly (Engel,...
