World Physical Therapy Day and National Physical Therapy Day

AS a member organization of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) and by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 15, s. 1998, the Philippine Physical Therapy Association (PPTA), Inc., joined the global celebration of World PT Day with its own observance of National PT Day last September 8, 2016.

The PPTA, will hold a conference on September 11, 2016, at the Metropolitan Medical Center in Santa Cruz, Manila, with the theme “Add Life to Years,” highlighting the role that PT plays in healthy ageing.

The plenary sessions will take up the following topics: The state of health care delivery to older people; the role of PR in the aging population; and “What’s New in Getting Old?” There will be sessions on “Let’s Get Physical,” “Playground ni Lolo at Lola,” “Young at Heart,” “Good and Positive Outlook in Life: Foundation of Excellent Aging,” “Catch Me, I’m Falling for You,” and “Kalabaw lang ang Tumatanda: A Community-Based Wellness Program for Older People.”

The WCPT is a non-profit organization that is based in Denmark. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and remains to this day the “sole international voice for physical therapy,” representing over 350,000 PTs worldwide in 112 member organizations, including the PPTA, Inc. The PPTA, which was established in 1964, became a member of the WCPT and a founding member of the Asian Confederation for Physical Therapy in 1967. It was later accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission in 1978.

The celebration of National PT Day sought to heighten public awareness of the significant contribution of the profession toward keeping people well, mobile, and independent, especially the elderly.