July, 1956. P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y Page Three

- 5 J J 1  & A 4  R A O  ftJU O  & A S  A A lS  f t A A  A A f  O A «  L A a & a « & a «  O J U i  a j u p  O A P  Cyyv^a O A d  f t A f  a / U B  O A P  CMU3 R A j p  a / U B  A A «  f t A A  A A lS  A A A  O A d  b A « f t A A & A < a « a

Editorial Page 3

The Neumann-Neurode Baby Gymnastics .............................................................................  Page 4

M rs. O . F. Guthrie-Smith—A Tribute .......................................................................................... Page 7

Rehabilitation of the Amputee ......................................................................................................  Page 10

General ...........................................................................................................................................  Page 12

Branch N e w s ........................................................................................................................................... .... Page 13

Group Endowment Fund .................................................................................................................. .... P age 14

Book Reviews ................................................................................................................................... Page 14

EDITO RIAL
whom the patient has no confidence, will do less 
good than one where the machine is not even 
turned on, but the physiotherapist’s attitude is 
constructive. W e must not ever forget that, to the 
physiotherapist the patient may be one o f hundreds, 
but, to the patient, the physiotherapist is an in­
dividual, and he must never be led to think other­
wise. '

Kindliness and properly assessed sympathy go 
hand in hand with interest in the patient as a whole. 
Patients can be exhausting and irritating, but the 
physiotherapist has no right to be in the profession 
if she is unable to cope with these situations. 
She has the advantage, though it may often seem 
to the contrary, o f spending more time with the 
patient than probably anyone else in the medical 
team, and has, therefore, ample opportunity o f 
encouraging and getting the best from the patient.

So that, although we may not really know the 
physiological effects o f ultrasonics or the like, 
let us at least be proud o f the fact that our own 
output is constant and giving o f its best to the 
patient psychologically.

L .E .D .

TH ER E has frequently been, criticism in the past o f physical medicine because so many o f 
its methods and the use o f so much o f its con­
siderable armamentarium are without sound scien­
tific evaluation. It is maintained, rightly so, that 
almost none o f our work has been controlled, 
that insufficient research is carried out, and that 
many o f our results are purely empirical.

A  true assessment o f the effect o f our treatments 
is m ost difficult when so many variable factors 
have to be considered. For example, one person’s 
reaction to pain is entirely different from another’s. 
At present we have only visual measurement o f a 
muscle contraction for com parison during a 
muscle test, and other similar examples could be 
quoted.

We probably all agree that, given time, we would 
like to carry out accurate research on the effects 
o f our treatments. M eanwhile we must not lose 
sight o f the fact that something quite as important 
as the short-wave diathermy machine, or the 
number o f pounds a quadriceps can resist, is the 
approach and personality o f the physiotherapist.

On certain occasions, an accurately applied short 
wave treatment given by a physiotherapist, in

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