How did we get here? The development of women’s health physiotherapy special interest groups in the UK

Author(s): J. Haslam & J. Laycock - Pages: 15–24

Abstract

This paper describes the development of UK women’s health physiotherapy special interest groups from 1912 to the present. Thought to have been introduced by Minnie Randell at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, in 1912, special exercises for pregnant women were further developed by Helen Heardman, who founded the Obstetric Physiotherapists’ Association in 1948. In 1961, this organization became known as the Obstetric Association of Chartered Physiotherapists, and in 1978, it was renamed the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ACPOG). The physiotherapy treatment of bladder and bowel disorders further developed in the 1980s, and Chartered Physiotherapists Promoting Continence (CPPC) was formed in 1991. In 1994, ACPOG became the Association of Chartered Physiotherapist in Women’s Health (ACPWH). As a result of further developments in the teaching and practice of physiotherapy treatment for pelvic, obstetric and gynaecological disorders, the organization has now moved forward again as Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy, which combines ACPWH and CPPC. The authors’ personal recollections of the period from 1960 are discussed.

Keywords: continence, gynaecology, history, obstetrics, women’s health.