School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Physiother Theory Pract. 2024 Aug;40(8):1831-1845. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2023.2211675. Epub 2023 May 19.
Physiotherapists interested in the profession's future have turned in recent years to historical evidence to understand how the physical therapies were practiced before the advent of modern healthcare. However, studies to date suggest that their practice was largely confined to social elites, and those from working-class or poor populations rarely, if ever, experienced them. To test this theory further, this study focuses on British sailors during the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815). Utilizing historical and semi-fictional accounts, this study shows that healthcare on board naval fighting ships concentrated almost entirely on the prevention of disease, and the medical and surgical management of acute trauma. Even though sailors experienced shocking levels of traumatic injury, none appear to have experienced any form of physical therapy. This study supports the argument that prior to the 20 century, the physical therapies were luxuries available primarily to those with surplus time and money, and that widespread access to physiotherapy has relied on state-sponsored universal health coverage. It follows, then, that the decline of universalized healthcare may have profound implications for many marginal groups in society, as well as the physiotherapy profession itself.
近年来，对该专业未来感兴趣的物理治疗师转向历史证据，以了解现代医疗保健出现之前物理疗法是如何实施的。然而，迄今为止的研究表明，他们的实践主要局限于社会精英阶层，来自工人阶级或贫困阶层的人很少（如果有的话）体验过这些疗法。为了进一步验证这一理论，本研究以拿破仑战争（1803-1815 年）期间的英国水手为研究对象。本研究利用历史和半虚构的叙述，表明在海军战斗舰艇上的医疗保健几乎完全集中在预防疾病以及急性创伤的医疗和外科管理上。尽管水手们经历了令人震惊的创伤性伤害水平，但似乎没有人接受过任何形式的物理治疗。这项研究支持了这样一种观点，即在 20 世纪之前，物理疗法是那些有多余时间和金钱的人的奢侈品，而广泛获得物理治疗则依赖于国家资助的全民健康覆盖。因此，普及医疗保健的衰落可能对社会中的许多边缘群体以及物理治疗行业本身产生深远的影响。
