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Manual Therapy 12 (2007) 199

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Editorial

Physiotherapists: Closer together, not worlds apart

Since the last issue of Manual Therapy Journal, theFifteenth World Congress of Physical Therapy (WCPT)has taken place in Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada. The conference saw the meeting of up to4000 physical therapists’ minds! One thousand sixhundred and forty-six presentations were made atCongress by representatives from the five regions ofWCPT. The largest proportion of presentations camefrom Europe with the Americas and the Antipodes andSouth East Asia also forming a large proportion of thephysiotherapy contingent. Musculoskeletal physiother-apy research and development presentations formedthe largest proportion of the specialities represented.The 4-yearly WCPT events provide a rich and fertileenvironment for the exchange of views, ideas, knowl-edge and research findings between physiotherapistsfrom across the world.

During Congress, an important event took place—theinaugural meeting of the International Society ofPhysiotherapy Journal Editors (ISPJE). Forty phy-siotherapy journals were represented at this event andwe are delighted to say that the editors of ManualTherapy Journal were part of the development of thisinternational society and were represented at the event.The ISPJE aims to promote the sharing of knowledge,expertise and good practice among international phy-siotherapy editors and raise the standards within and theacademic profile of physiotherapy publication across theworld. It is also hoped that by working together, we canfacilitate more access to publications for those peopleliving in developing countries. It was a privilege to bepart of this innovation and we look forward to theopportunities that such collaborations can provide forManual Therapy Journal, but also for the physiotherapyprofession as a whole.

WCPT once again demonstrated the goodwill andbonhomie that occurs when physiotherapists fromaround the world get together. Research collaborationsflourished, new developments in technology and practicewere shared, new research findings were taken to allcorners of the earth for further dissemination by themessage bearers. The conference makeup this time

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provided a number of learning opportunities, not justfrom the multi-speciality content perspective, but themethod of delivery, e.g. platform presentations, viperdiscussions, poster presentations, workshops, symposia,discussion panels, debates, pre- and post-congresscourses, clinical visits and last-but-not-least, and prob-ably most importantly, the social events and informalnetworking opportunities. It was indeed a magicallearning environment for everyone.

Importantly, WCPT highlights the positive benefits ofphysiotherapists from all specialities learning togetherand the fact that as a profession we possess many skillswhich are transferable across speciality boundaries andmany issues and developments occurring in some areasof practice have strong applications and relevance inother areas. We can all learn from experiences that haveoccurred in other specialities and we should not forgetto do so.

Manual Therapy Journal will be publishing a SpecialIssue, including selected key musculoskeletal papersfrom Congress before the end of 2007. We are pleased toannounce that Associate Professor Darren Rivett of theEditorial Board for Manual Therapy will be guest editorfor this Special Issue.

While we celebrate the benefits and successes ofWCPT, we must now prepare for the next internationalevent and the most important event in the musculoske-letal calendar—IFOMT 2008 which will be held in June2008 in Rotterdam.

This conference presents us with a superb opportunityto share, learn, collaborate, debate and discuss issues ofimportance to musculoskeletal physiotherapists world-wide. We should all look forward to hearing about thelatest cutting-edge research and taking part in thephilosophical debate that will inevitably occur at thismost exciting event. We look forward to seeing you allin Rotterdam.

(Co-Editors)Ann Moore, Gwen Jull