Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses the period immediately before the formation of the profession and examines the practices that physiotherapists co-opted in defining their professional identity. It looks at the first 20 years of physiotherapy and concentrates on the actions of the founders of the Society of Trained Masseuses (STM) in England. The book explores the period between 1914 and 1973; a period of consolidation in which physiotherapy established itself as an orthodox health profession par excellence. It addresses the body and the very particular way physiotherapists have made sense of its complexities and challenges. The book draws the various cultural, historical, philosophical and sociological critiques together and considers what how they are influencing physiotherapy education, practice, regulation and research.