In celebration of National Physical Therapy month, it seems fitting to inform the public on how the profession of physical therapy came to be.  It all started when there was a growing need for rehabilitation for the people who suffered the effects of the Polio epidemic, and also for the wounded soldiers from World War I in the early 1900's.  Marguerite Sanderson and Mary McMillan were the first two individuals involved in the training of "reconstruction aides" responsible for caring for those individuals.  In 1921, McMillan was named the first president of the American Women's Physical Therapeutic Association, later termed the American Physiotherapy Association (APA), and now called the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).  Men were admitted into the APA in the 1930's, and unlike many other health professions, 70% of physical therapists to this day are women.  The APTA had assistance from the American Medical Association (AMA) to get on its feet and determine accreditation standards during the 30's, 40's and 50's.  By the 1940's, physical therapy education shifted from hospital to university based programs.  At that time, there were 40 physical therapy schools and the APTA had over 8000 members.  In 1946, President Harry Truman passed the Hill Burton Act, which provided more beds in hospitals, nursing homes, rehab facilities and chronic disease hospitals, therefore, requiring more physical therapists in those settings.

Please tune in next week for part two!

Yours in health,

Kelsey Eitel, SPT