A new year is upon us in a new 
d e m o c r a tic  s o c ie t y  w ith  e x c it in g  
changes also envisaged for the SASP. 
The restructuring process has been' a 
long and arduous one and all credit 
m ust go to the sm all group of people 
who have spent so m uch of their time 
and en erg ies on this p ro ject. M o st 
m em bers of the SA SP have had the 
opp ortunity to h ear about the pro­
posed changes and w ill be asked to 
v o te fo r re s tr u c tu r in g  at the n e x t 
Council m eeting. The aim  of restruc­
turing is to allow  m em bers to becom e 
m ore intim ately involved in the run­
ning of the Society. O f course the plan 
is not foolproof, but does deserve to be 
tried out and w ill surely be refined 
over the years to come.

READERS’ NEEDS

W hat is it that m em bers w ant from  
the SA Journal of Physiotherapy? In a 
survey u n d ertak e n  by the P u b lica­
tio n s  D iv is io n , it w a s fo u n d  th a t 
physiotherapists w ere satisfied w ith 
both publications of the SASP. In the 
small sam ple interview ed, p ractitio­
ners felt that they w ould also like m ore 
case studies and short reports of a less 
scientific nature. These w ill alw ays be 
published, w hen available, together 
w ith research driven studies and re­
view articles.

But w here are these research articles 
to com e from ? We have a very sm all 
group of post-graduate students from 
which to draw and m any articles of a 
reasonable standard are received from 
authors outside the profession. They 
do m eet the criteria of professionalism  
but often are of little or no relevance to 
our readers.

Do we publish these articles of little 
relevance in order to m aintain "stan d ­

ard s" or do w e aim to cater for all our 
m em bers who m ay not be so efficient 
or skilled in interpreting research arti­
cles? In an ideal w orld, the Editorial 
Board w ould have a bank of w ell w rit­
ten research articles from  w hich to 
choose. Although m any articles are re­
jected, w e often have to use articles 
w hich m ay not be described as re­
search but which m ay be of interest to 
practitioners.

A ll these pond erings have com e 
about through a letter w ritten to the 
Editor w hich is published, in part, in 
this edition of the Journal. A lthough as 
Editor, I w ould like to see the Journal 
m eeting "International Standards", I 
do w onder if this is the m ain aim of our 
publication w hose m ission is to com ­
m unicate and to educate in order to 
sh are k n o w led g e and ex p erien ces. 
W hat do our readers think and w hat 
path should w e be follow ing?

CONTENTS

This edition of the Journal was to 
have been devoted to neurology, but 
only one article was received in time 
for publication. L H ale et al describe 
the study that they undertook to estab­
lish w hat the optim al tim e o f applying 
passive m uscle stretch would be in or­
der to reduce spasticity in the quadri­
ceps m u scles of p atien ts follow ing 
cerebral lesions.

Three reports and/or case studies 
are presented by m em bers of the O r­
th o p aed ic M a n ip u la tiv e T h erap ists 
Group which should be of interest to 
those dealing with rotator cuff prob­
lem s, cauda equina syndrom es and 
cervical disorders.

The Editorial Board is m ost grateful 
for the time and patience of our refe­
rees and a list is published o f those

practitioners and referees w ho have 
assisted in review ing articles during 
the past year. Theirs is an onerous task 
as not only do they check the content 
and style but also m ake suggestions 
for im provem ent of the articles.

O nce again an appeal is m ade to our 
readers to subm it articles to our Jou r­
nal, w hether they be based on scien­
tific research or on carefully controlled 
and d o cu m en ted  case stu dies. The 
M ay 1995 edition w ill be devoted to 
various aspects of paediatrics and ar­
ticles m ust reach the editor before the 
end of February. The Jou rn al in A ugust 
will hopefully com prise articles relat­
ing to com m unity and education is­
sues w hile N ovem ber w ill again be 
devoted to Exercise and Sport. A ll ar­
ticles m ust be subm itted at least three 
m onths in advance, but a longer p e­
riod is desirable to allow  for correc­
tions to be m ade if necessary.

The E d ito ria l Board w ill also be 
grateful for suggestions on how we 
m ay im prove the Jou rn al and do let us 
know  if you are satisfied w ith the pub­
lication and w hether it is m eeting your 
needs.

ARTICLE REFEREES

Referees who have assisted in re­
view ing articles for p u blication in the 
Jou rnal over the p ast year.
• M rs Jenny M itchell
• M iss Sheena Irw in-C arruthers
• M rs Sielie Eales
• Professor G eoff Rogers
• M rs C arol C unningham
• M iss M ariette Uys
• M iss Jenny H endry
• M rs Jo-A nne Sklaar

The Editorial Board is m o st grateful 
for their assistance in this tim e con­
sum ing task.

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.

)