GENERAL
W ORLD C O N FE D E R A T IO N  FO R  

PH YSIC A L TH ERAPY
The Training o f  Physical Therapists is published in English, 

French and now in Spanish. T his docum ent has been found 
very u sefu l by many physical therapists, doctors and inter­
national bodies setting up physical therapy services.

Any members who w ould like to have a copy may obtain 
ne from  the W .C.P.T., Tavistock H ouse (South), Tavistock 

Square, London, W .C .l, England.
Summary o f Annual Report for 1961 

1961 savv change and progress in the affairs o f the W orld 
C on fed eration  for Physical Therapy. By 1961 the W .C.P.T. 
had reached a stage in its developm ent which necessitated 
the appointm ent o f its own secretariat with Miss M. J. 
Neilson, M.B.E., who fo r seventeen years had been secretary 
of the Chartered Society o f Physiotherapy, as the first 
Secretary General. New offices have been acquired in 
Eastbury House, A lbert E m bankm ent, L ondon, S .E .l, and 
all physical therapists visiting Londonw ill be welcomed there. 

The scope and volume o f the C onfederation’s work 
I increased rapidly in the year. Advice was given on the 
formation and activities o f professional associations of 
physical therapists and on the planning and equipping o f 
physical therapy departm ents and training schools in various 
parts of the world.

The Federation Suisse des Physiotherapeutes was adm itted 
for membership subject to confirm ation at the G eneral 
Meeting 1963.

In the early m onths o f 1961 physical therapists were 
recruited by the W orld C onfederation, on behalf o f the 
League o f Red Cross Societies, to treat M oroccan patients 
paralysed as a result o f using adulterated cooking oil. In 
conjunction with the Save the C hildren Fund o f G reat 
Britain, the W .C.P.T. found a physical therapist to w ork in 
the C hildren’s Pavilion o f the H ospital in Fez.

Several physical therapists were recruited to the A guash 
Rehabilitation C entre in Cairo to join the team  there, con­
sisting of fourteen physical therapists from  D enm ark, 
France, G reat B ritain, Norway, W estern G erm any and 
Yugoslavia. A physical therapist from  G reat B ritain (Miss 
Lois Dyer, one-time o f the G eneral H ospital, Johannesburg 
and form er editor o f Physiotherapy Journal o f S.A.S.P.) 
who had lately returned from  M orocco, was appointed 
jointly by the Egyptian Veterans and W ar Victims’ A sso­
ciation and the W orld Veterans’ Federation as leader o f the 
team.

In July 1962 at the E uropean International Conference 
on R ehabilitation to be held in K ing’s College, Cambridge, 
the W.C.P.T. will be responsible for a session on Physical 
Therapy. A Swedish physical therapist will read a paper on 
“The Rehabilitation o f Forestry W orkers w ith Back Injuries 
in Sweden” and a B ritish physical therapist will speak on 
“The Physical T herapist’s R ole in the R ehabilitation o f 
Patients o f all Ages” .

The Executive C omm ittee, in subm itting this report, 
records its gratitude both to the M em ber O rganizations and 
to their individual members who have supported the organi­
zation in many ways, such as w orking on docum ents and 
pamphlets prepared by the comm ittee, by representing the 
Confederation at international meetings in their own 
countries and reporting thereon, and last b ut not least, by 
providing the financial resources which make possible the 
work o f the W orld C onfederation for Physical Therapy.

This report, in full, was subm itted by R udie Agersnap, 
President on behalf o f the Executive C omm ittee, W .C.P.T.

F O U R T H  C O N G R E SS 
Copenhagen, 17th to 22nd June, 1963

The S.A.S.P. C entral Executive C omm ittee is investigating 
the possibilities o f arranging reduced A ir Fares to C open­
hagen for the Congress.

Interested persons are asked to contact the G eneral 
secretary, P.O. Box 11151, Johannesburg.

June, 1962

JO H A N N E SB U R G  C O U N C IL  F O R  TH E CARE O F  T H E  
AGED

Mr. A. R othberg has been elected to represent the S.A.S.P. 
on the above Council.

C O M PU L S O R Y  R EG ISTR A TIO N
The Society’s publicity campaign has swung into top 

gear with the C entral and B ranch A ction’s C omm ittee 
w orking at high pressure.

Two News Letters have been sent to members o f the 
public and encouraging replies have been received from 
influential people including Members o f Parliam ent and 
doctors.

Page 9

Letter to the Editor
RE— FIB R O SITIS

D ear M adam ,
While there is at the m om ent great interest in the attain ­

ment o f com pulsory registration o f physiotherapists fo r the 
protection o f the public, I would like to express an opinion 
on a subject closely connected with this.

Recently I read in the parliam entary report o f a S.A. 
newspaper that one honourable mem ber felt that many 
M .P.’s would not have been cured o f their fibrositis had it 
not been for C hiropractors. I do not doubt the truth o f this 
statem ent, as in m y opinion this is a condition fo r which the 
medical and physiotherapy professions in South Africa 
have yet failed to find a cure. In fact, physiotherapists are 
often required to treat cases with referred pain in the cervical 
o r lum bar region (“ fibrositis” or “ lum bago” ) w ithout a 
diagnosis, i.e. w ithout an indication o f the cause o f this 
pain. T he result is th at the sym ptom atic treatm ent so often 
administered (heat, massage, etc.), does little but keep the 
patient under the illusion th at he or she is receiving treat­
ment, while nature is effecting the cure.

In m y experience, m any of these patients can be success­
fully treated by spinal m anipulation and traction, properly 
applied according to the pathology indicated by an accurate 
diagnosis, and the signs presented by each case.

If physiotherapists in South A frica were trained to carry 
o ut these techniques under the guidance of doctors, the 
honourable M .P .’s could be cured o f their “ fibrositis” 
under proper medical care. It is time the S.A.S.P. seriously 
considered asking an expert in these techniques to visit this 
country in order to initiate the training.

Y ours sincerely,
Brun. W inter, M.C.S.P.

(iContinued from  page 5)
ju st being a “ physio” , b u t also a “ therapist” , in fact try to 
make it a happy com bination o f “ physiotherapist” .

I think in our profession the danger of becoming and 
training mere technicians is even greater than in m any other 
related professions, I w ould personally even go further and 
say th at a really good therapist will also aim  at giving the 
patient the treatm ent th at has a high professional s ta n d a rd ; 
but that may be debatable.

F o r the end results it might not m atter w hether we arrive 
at a happy solution from  one end or the other as long as we 
give consideration to both.

Any one who has seriously and sincerely tried to apply a 
more psychological approach to patients will bear m e out 
th at this can m ake our w ork so much m ore rewarding 
and richer.

I wish to place on record my appreciation to D r. H. 
M oross, Medical Superintendent, T ara H ospital for his 
help and permission in the writing o f this contribution.

B i b l i o g r a p h y

G i l l i s ,  L. S., M .D ., D .P .M ., 1962. Title: Human Behaviour 
in Illness, Psychology and Interpersonal Relationship. 
Publisher: F aber and F aber, London.

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