World Physiotherapy Day
Today is World Physiotherapy Day #WorldPTDay which is an annual opportunity for physiotherapists from all over the world to raise awareness about the crucial contribution their profession makes to keeping people well, mobile and independent.
This years theme is Long COVID. Both the theme and the day have personal meaning for me. First, I am a person living with Long COVID. Second, it was 1 year ago to the day that I crashed and experienced the onset of the most disabling period of the 18 months I have been living with Long COVID. In the last year a lot has changed for so many, including myself. As the Chair of Long COVID Physio I could not be more grateful of the the allyship demonstrated by World Physiotherapy in choosing Long COVID as the #WorldPTDay theme for 2021 and the visibility this affords people living with and affected by Long COVID.
I am proud of the physiotherapy profession in it’s responce not only to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to Long COVID as demonstrated today. Safe and effective rehabilitation is a fundamental component of healthcare for people living with Long COVID, and physiotherapists are embracing different ways of working that centres on pacing to achieve sustained symptom stabilisation instead of only graded exercise. I am hopeful for continuing and increasing recognition of Long COVID, that can advance research, practice and policy to positively impact the recovery, function and and quality of life of people living with Long COVID. My optimism persists that this visibility, recognition and research can lead to progress.
Long COVID Physio has been a driving force in the physiotherapy professions response to Long COVID and I could not be more proud of our Executive Board, who have shared messages about what #WorldPTDay 2021 means to them. Today our team have worked hard to share the #WorldPTDay resources that have been translated into over 50 different languages by World Physiotherapy, all available in their toolkit. Some of the highlights from today include the flurry of activity on Twitter showcasing the range of translations around 5 key information sheets:
Many of these resources have taken information from the briefing paper on safe rehabilitation approaches for people living with Long COVID, that continues to be translated into more languages. World Physiotherapy have been incredible allies for us at Long COVID Physio and more broadly to people living with Long COVID. I personally cannot thank the team enough for their dedication and hard work poured into all this support.
I personally feel like the physiotherapy profession is shifting, changing, and adapting to the approaches required to support people living with post-viral energy limiting conditions. We continue to be grateful to the lessons and guidance of the ME/CFS community, and owe them a great debt. Together there is much hope, and today feels like a remarkable step in ensuring that physiotherapists globally are able to deliver safe and effective rehabilitation to every person who is recovering from or living with post-viral conditions.
