The emergence of physiotherapy in Germany from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries: A “female profession” concerned with movement in the health care arena

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: The history of physiotherapy in Germany dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, when German physicians discovered Swedish medical gymnastics as a therapeutic treatment modality. From the early 20th century onwards, physiotherapy slowly began to establish itself as a field of activity specifically for women of the middle classes who provided assistive services to medical doctors.Method: Extensive overview of published and unpublished research on the history of German physiotherapy as well as select primary sources from the 19th and 20th centuries. Additionally reference is made to historical research regarding the emergence of the physical culture and life reform movements, as well as on gender research regarding upper and middle class female employment opportunities in the social and health care sector.Findings: This study outlines the two leitmotifs of physiotherapy’s incorporation into the medical sector (i.e. medicalisation) and its (self-)image as a “female profession” (i.e. feminisation) as two intertwined historical phenomena shaping the critical period when physiotherapy assumed its role as a health profession in Germany. These developments from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries resulted in the emergence of a “female profession” with a distinct focus on the role of movement as a treatment modality.Discussion: Critical engagement with a handed down professional self-image is needed. On the basis of my historiographical overview, I suggest a future research agenda which would result in a more appropriate understanding of early physiotherapists in Germany as historical agents.