September, 1958. P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y Page 3

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Editorial ....................................................................................

The Treatment o f Scoliosis ............................................

U se o f Glasso-Pharyngeal Breathing in Cases o f Scoliosis

Time M arches On .........................................................

General ....................................................................................

Branch News .....................................................................

Book Reviews ......................................................................

P age 3

Page 4

P age 10

Page 14

P age 12

Page 13

Page 19

E D IT O R IA L

SIN C E  1928 the S O U T H  A F R I C A N  SO C IE T Y  o f  P H Y S IO T H E R A P Y  has been asking for 
com pulsory registration. The idea has been to 
have State con trol o f  our profession and its relation­
ship to the public and the m edical profession as a 
whole.

This has been considered necessary as the name 
o f  Physiotherapy has been used and m isused and 
abused through the years, and it is only through 
com pulsory registration that we can protect our 
name. U nethical practices have been h iding under 
the name o f  P hysiotherapy, unethical persons have 
te e n  practising under the nam e o f  physiotherapists.

Before em barking on the long arduous and 
expensive task o f  ob tain in g state registration, we 
as a Society m ust ask ourselves several im portant 
questions.

Firstly, w hat benefits will w e derive for our 
Society and profession from  this protection?

Secondly d o we need protecting? Surely the 
standard o f  work m aintained by m em bers o f  our 
profession and our ethical b ehaviour is protection 
enough.

M any questions o f  this sort will have to be 
asked and m any paths will have to be explored 
before any final d ecisions are m ade. W e m ust be 
very sure com p ulsory registration is w hat is really

needed and whether having ob tain ed  our goal the 
p rofession as a w hole will benefit greatly in the 
future.

M u ch  o f  the control o f  our internal affairs may 
be taken out o f  our ow n hands and put into the 
hands o f  som e body, com m ittee, or persons w ho 
will have to decide on m any vital issues having a 
bearing o n  our profession. W ho will be on this 
b od y? W ho w ill have the final say in form ing the 
a cceptable standards o f  training and experience for 
registration purposes for in stance? H ow  m uch 
representation w ill our Society have o n  any board 
or com m ittee dealing w ith our affairs?

It is possible that ad dition al restrictions may be 
im posed  upon physiotherapists that are not applic­
able to other auxilliary p rofessions. In this way our 
freedom  o f  action, valued by physiotherapists, may 
be thwarted. In this last point private practitioners 
m ight find their liberties severely interfered with.

Finally we m ust ask ourselves “ are we advancing 
the cause o f  our profession or are we hanging 
ourselves unnecessarily” should com pulsory regis­
tration becom e law.

M uch thought m ust be given to this m atter by 
each and all o f  you, as it w ill be through your 
efforts that com pulsory registration w ill be achieved 
eventually. O nce a law  it will be well neigh im ­
possib le to recind this law.

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