Advancing an environmentally responsible physiotherapy

 

The world faces complex and interrelated crises… Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, rapid urbanization, geopolitical conflict and militarization, demographic change, population displacement, poverty, and widespread inequity create risks of future crises even more severe than those experienced today. Responses require investments that integrate planetary, societal, community and individual health and well-being (WHO 2021 Geneva Charter for Wellbeing)

 

 The impact of human activities on our planet’s natural systems has been intensifying rapidly in the past several decades, leading to disruption and transformation of most natural systems. These disruptions in the atmosphere, oceans, and across the terrestrial land surface are not only driving species to extinction, they pose serious threats to human health and wellbeing. Characterising and addressing these threats requires a paradigm shift (Myers, 2017)

Action at the level of direct drivers of nature decline, although necessary, is not sufficient … a sustainable global future’ is ‘only possible with urgent transformative change that tackles the root causes: the interconnected economic, socio-cultural, demographic, political, institutional, and technological indirect drivers behind the direct drivers (Diaz et al., 2019)

About

An international community of academics, clinicians, practitioners and students interested in exploring and advancing the field of environmental physiotherapy. 

Blog

Follow our latest musings on environmental physiotherapy. Ideas, inspiration, news, publications, events, and more. 

Join

Become part of the first international community of physiotherapists with an interest in researching, developing, and practising physiotherapy at a planetary scale. 

Resources

A growing selection of resources carefully selected by members of the EPA to inspire your thinking and practice of environmental physiotherapy. 

The Role of Physiotherapists in Wilderness Medicine

As the profession of physical therapy advances, clinicians are looking for creative ways to apply their skill sets. In recent years, wilderness medicine has been growing in popularity within the physical therapy realm. Wilderness medicine is characterized by remote...

AustrAmerican Doctor of Physiotherapy turned Global Sustainability Consultant

In 2018, my life was changed forever. My sustainable lightbulb moment happened whilst on a camping trip to regional Victoria, Australia in the Yarra Valley. My small group of friends and I sat on the bank of the Goulburn River at the back of a cherry tree farm - like...

Living well with pain, by the sea

Living with persistent pain can be difficult!  Pain permeates every part of my life and is my constant companion.  In this blog I hope to show how the beauty of the natural world can help support those of us living with persistent pain, and in particular how living by...

Intersections of Health, Social, and Environmental Justice: A Canadian Perspective

At the first-ever Environmental Physiotherapy Festival 2023, Erin Keough, Susan Czyzo and I came together to host a talk and discussion on the intersections of different justice areas, the environment, and healthcare, all while centering a Canadian perspective. We...

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