Page Two P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y April, 1955.

Ecitorial Page 2

Some Aspects of the Treatment of Paraplegics at Stoke Mandeville Page 3
University Appeals Fund Page 6
Varicose Ulcers (continued)... Page 7
Branch News ... Page 11

General Principles of the Physiotherapy Treatment of Diseases of the H eart Page 12
Personal ...................................... Page 13
General............... Page 14
Book Review ... Page 15

>

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EDITORIAL

AT the end o f April this year the University o f the Witwatersrand is staging its University 
Towns Festival to help raise money for the Uni­
versity Appeals Fund. Some o f the entertain­
ments to be enjoyed at this Festival are described 
elsewhere in the Journal.

This bid to raise funds for the University, 
funds which are desperately needed for innumerable 
purposes, prompts one to consider the part the 
University has played in helping to further physio­
therapy.

In 1938 the University started training for a 
Diploma Course in Massage, Medical Gymnastics 
and Electro-therapy. In 1943 this changed to a 
four year degree course in Physiotherapy, and a 
B.Sc. (Physiotherapy) Rand was granted. The 
additional first year offering a training in the basic 
sciences has proved an excellent grounding for 
the specialised Physiotherapy course. Throughout 
the training has been under the direction of 
Chartered Society Teachers, and testimony has 
shown that the training has become one with as 
high a standard as anywhere in the world.

Since the inception o f the course, to the present 
time, one hundred and thirty two physiotherapists 
have graduated. O f these, many have gone 
overseas, and most o f them have returned to give 
the benefit o f their extra experience to South Africa.

Recently, the University agreed to accept male 
students, and it is hoped it will not be too long 
before the training o f blind persons, teachers and 
non-Europeans will be undertaken. However, 
these plans necessitate more staff, more apparatus 
and more accommodation, which in their turn 
obviously necessitate the provision o f more 
money.

Within the last year or two the University hasi 
sponsored the organisation o f several Post-graduate' 
courses for physiotherapists and these have 
proved a great stimulus to us all. Another one 
is shortly to be held, and with sufficient support 
these will be a regular feature o f the University’s 
facilities for Post-graduates.

The present physiotherapy students are working • 
hard to raise funds for the Festival, and will be 
giving a gymnastic display, as well as supervising 
the presentation o f the de Beers’ dogs, apart 
from giving general assistance wherever they 
may be needed. Many members o f our Society, 
some o f them graduates o f the University, have 
already pledged their help, while others have 
assisted in the raising o f funds for the general 
Appeals Fund. It is hoped that even more will 
offer their assistance for this University which 
has done so much for us.

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