Page 2

E D I T O R I A L

P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y September, 1962

T he visit o f th e A m erican wheelchair athletes in June and 
July o f this year, was the direct result and the personal 
efforts o f M r. T o m  K now les, him self a paraplegic confined 
to  a w heelchair.

H e visited th e  R ehabilitation C entre o f the University o f 
Illinois, U.S.A. in  1961 and was greatly im pressed by the 
opportunities offered to  the physically disabled and the atti­
tu d e o f th e U niversity tow ards these persons. H e decided 
to  m ake it possible to  bring a team  o f athletes o u t to South 
A frica in o rd er to  let those in a sim ilar position see w hat 
could be do n e an d  to show th e  general public how norm al 
an existence could be lived by those who are  wheelchair 
b orne.

T o raise funds and publicize this p roposed visit, T om  
K now les wheeled him self 452 miles from  P retoria to  D u r b a n ; 
a tru e feat o f enterprise, ingenuity and endurance.

A  team  eventually arrived in this country flying direct 
from  New Y ork an d  returning via E ngland where they were 
d ue to  com pete in the Stoke-M andeville P araplegic G am es.

W hile in this co u n try  they d em onstrated th e ir sports and 
games an d  thrilled physiotherapists and the public alike 
w ith their skill and were certainly an inspiration to o ther 
paraplegics who, given the o pportunity, will surely be able 
to  achieve sim ilar ability.

H ere, o u r p o p u latio n  being com paratively small, our 
groups o f p o ten tial wheelchair sportsm en and women are 
scattered a t widely d istan t points th ro u g h o u t the country, 
m aking organised com petitions and games very difficult as 
well as specialized training alm ost im possible, except fo r a

lim ited few in the larger centres. There is trem endous need 
fo r centralisation o f activities and organizations dealing 
with these sportsm en.

G reat w ork is being done in different centres and already 
we have h ad  tw o G old M edallists in the recent Stoke- 
M andeville G am es. M rs. N ancy Thesen and M r. Bernard 
H um ble, members o f the first representative three-m an team 
cam e back victorious in A rchery and W eight-lifting respec­
tively. T his is a w onderful achievement and Cape Town 
m ust be congratulated on producing the first wheelchair 
Springboks and m aking it possible fo r them  to participate 
in the G am es.

T his m ust becom e a natio n al effort and in future a much^ 
larger and m ore representative team  m ust be sent overseas 
and to  make this possible there should be a central organisa­
tion to  plan, publicize and gather financial support.

Seeing this happy ban d  from  the U .S.A ., travelling easily 
and com foratably by air and coach, and mixing freely with 
strangers and exchanging ideas with people in different 
countries has opened the doors o f oppo rtu n ity  to many.

All the visitors are adequately employed in a variety of 
occupations com peting in the open lab o u r m arket, besides 
striving to  help o ther paraplegics and physically handi­
capped colleagues.

It is a challenge to  physiotherapists in this country to 
inspire those under their care to reach the sam e goal— 
com plete wheelchair rehabilitation.

O u r best wishes go to  all wheelchair athletes here and 
overseas.

C o n t e n t s

The Significance of Physical Education in Human H ealth and Fitness 

Medicine and Physiotherapy in Tetanus 

General 

Branch News 

Students’ Column 

Book Reviews

Official Notice and Vacancies 

Approved Medical Aid Societies

Page

3

5

8

9

10

11

11

14-16

R
ep

ro
du

ce
d 

by
 S

ab
in

et
 G

at
ew

ay
 u

nd
er

 li
ce

nc
e 

gr
an

te
d 

by
 th

e 
P

ub
lis

he
r 

(d
at

ed
 2

01
3.

)