(A much loved fourth grandchild, Jarrad, predeceased him.) “
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” – Sir Isaac Newton’s MK0683 research buy quote could aptly be applied to the progression of the physiotherapy profession, and its debt of gratitude to one of its own giants and pioneers, Geoffrey Maitland MBE. Maitland was instrumental and inspirational in developing the field of musculoskeletal physiotherapy. He introduced careful and precise examination of patients, and emphasised the need for continual assessment of patients that was to be used to

guide management. These aspects were clearly the forerunners of what we now refer to as clinical reasoning and patient-centred care. He was passionate about postgraduate education for qualified physiotherapists and this helped to pave the way for our current position as autonomous practitioners, and a modern musculoskeletal specialist profession. Born in South Australia in 1924, he joined the RAAF in 1942 and was drafted to Britain to fly Sunderland bombers, and to take part in the Battle of Britain. Whilst in the UK, he met his wife and life partner Anne, marrying in 1945, and sharing 60 years together until

her death in 2009. After leaving the RAAF, Maitland trained at the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1949, and later went on to lecture at the South Australian Physiotherapy School. It was here that he developed his special interest in the use of passive

joint mobilisation techniques, and the assessment and treatment of patients with spinal problems. His integrated approach to assessment MAPK Inhibitor Library and treatment of the patient, demanding precise communication and questioning, careful assessment and, vitally, re-assessment after treatment, and the integration of scientific knowledge with the clinical decision-making process still underpins the practice of high quality manual therapy. Whilst common place today, these approaches were revolutionary 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase in their time, for a profession that had been so medically directed previously. Maitland’s “permeable brick wall” concept encapsulates the integration of science and clinical practice, encouraging the therapist to balance information from questioning and from physical testing, with research evidence and past experience, to come up with an individualised and specific programme of treatment for each patient. It offers the therapist the chance to break free and be innovative. His suggestion that “Technique is the brainchild of ingenuity” is borne out in an incident from a course Maitland was running, where he was treating a patient in front of students. When asked what technique he was doing, he replied, “I don’t know, I’ve never done it before” – the technique was specific to that individual patient and based on his examination findings only, not on textbook techniques.