July 4, 2019
Editorial by Jon Davis, Maitland Physiotherapist:

The PhysioStudio in East Maitland has established itself as the best local physio clinic in Maitland. Since opening in 2016 we’ve built a strong reputation for offering the finest in evidence based best practice physiotherapy to the community of Maitland and surrounds. For me, Maitland holds a special place in the history of physiotherapy- not just in Australia, but internationally:

Did you know that one of the pioneers of spinal and sports physiotherapy was Geoff Maitland (1924-2010). If you Google “Maitland Physio”, you’ll not only find the PhysioStudio in East Maitland with a 5 star rating, but you’ll see that Geoff Maitland literally wrote the book on physiotherapy. Maitland’s text books on physio manipulation were first published in 1964, and continued to be published with updated revisions as late 2005. Geoff Maitland was awarded a Member of the British Empire (MBE)for his contribution to physiotherapy.

As an undergraduate student at the University of South Australia at the turn of the century, I was lucky enough to study at the home of the Maitland method. The old grounds of the Adelaide University on the East end of North parade where Geoff Maitland refined his physio craft went on to become the Physiotherapy School of the University of South Australia. Uni SA is world famous for teaching the Maitland method of physio, and has attracted many aspiring physiotherapy students from across the commonwealth.

Geoff Maitland is considered one of the father figures of modern physiotherapy. His work regarding manual therapy and mobilisation has been come to known as the “Maitland Method” and the “Maitland Concept”. The Maitland Method and Concept of physiotherapy are characterised by two main elements. Firstly, excellent manual therapy and palpation skills together with expert knowledge of anatomy are used to assess the movement of joints. And secondly, the response of these joints to a logical process of trial treatments is evaluated to make diagnostic judgements- known as ‘clinical reasoning’.

Although our scientific understanding and rationale for physiotherapy treatments has come a long way in the last 20 years, the Maitland techniques remain a popular and effective component of contemporary evidence-based physio today.

Many of the manual techniques and clinical reasoning described by Maitland in his books on peripheral manipulation and Spinal Manipulation have also become mainstays of other disciplines of manual therapy such as Osteopathy and Chiropractic. (if you’re interested, keep an eye out for my upcoming piece discussing the similarities and differences between physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy here).

As an undergraduate student at the University of South Australia at the turn of the century, I was lucky enough to study at the home of the Maitland method, on the old grounds of the Adelaide University on the East end of North parade. UniSA is where Geoff Maitland developed his skills and ultimately taught his method. UniSA is famous for producing physiotherapists with excellent manual handing, manipulation and clinical reasoning skills. I am proud to have topped my classes in these skills, and I endeavour to help my team of physiotherapists excel in these integral areas of physiotherapy too.
For excellence in physio in Maitland please give us a call on 4933 9893. I’m confident you’ll be glad you did.

Yours Truly

Jon Davis
Titled APA Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist
B.Physio M.Physio(Sports)

References:
https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/90/3/326/2737750
https://www.wcpt.org/node/33696
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3103114/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_mobilization
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Maitland%27s_Mobilisations