Physiopedia:About

Our mission is to improve global health through universal access to physiotherapy knowledge.


We are a charity, a not-for profit organisation. We educate physiotherapists all over the world. We build physiotherapy community. We advocate for the physiotherapy profession. We help those in need of physiotherapy knowledge. We have an impact on people's lives!

The first ever Physiopedia (and perhaps physiotherapy) Hackathon in 2017
The Physiopedia team meeting up at the Physiotherapy UK conference in 2018
The global Physiopedia team sharing knowledge in one of the many monthly meetings.

We are a charity[edit | edit source]

Physiopedia is a charity registered in the United Kingdom. Charities in the UK are rigorously monitored and we are proud to meet the required standards. All funds that we raise, everything that you give, goes directly into achieving our mission. Find out more here and read how we translate our mission to a global scale.

We Educate[edit | edit source]

The Physiopedia charity provides an evidence-based and continually updating knowledge resource that is free for anyone to access - some people call us "Wikipedia for the physiotherapy profession". The website is the largest available physiotherapy knowledge resource and is used by people in every corner of the world.

Every month, over 1 million individual physiotherapists from nearly every country in the world learn from the Physiopedia website.

In addition to the open knowledge resource the Physiopedia charity also provides free online courses which make education and professional development accessible where ever a person is in the world.

"The team at Physiopedia is doing an excellent job. Information which may not otherwise be available to myself and others is readily available as a result of Physiopedia. I feel like a better prepared physiotherapist as a result of Physiopedia". ~ Claron O’Neale, Physiotherapist, Grenada.

The impact of these courses is un-paralleled in the rehabilitation professions:

Date Course topic Articles created Page views Course participants Number of countries represented Particiapnts from LMICs*
2014 Spinal Cord Injuries n/a n/a 3,500 110
2015 Amputee Rehabilitation 26 129,899 7,639 150
2016 Physical Activity 44 82,647 8,482 157
2016 Cerebral Palsy 25 193,299 14,010 179
2017 Clubfoot 25 36,243 6,000 156
2018 Wheelchair Service Provision 25 57,718 5,559 143

*LMICs = low and middle income countries

We build community[edit | edit source]

Physiopedia is a living, community built website. Any physiotherapist anywhere in the world can contribute their knowledge to the site and share it with the world. This community of over 5,500 editors values the importance of sharing knowledge to empower physiotherapists all over the world to enhance patient care and the resulting health people in need. In addition our international team of volunteers who formally contribute are from many different contexts of our profession, their contribution is key and also an amazing professional experience.

"Caution, joining the team at Physiopedia could irreversibly change your professional life. I would strongly recommend to do the same for supporting the development of our global physiotherapy community". ~ Andrea Sturm, Physiotherapist, Austria.

Read about:

We advocate for the profession[edit | edit source]

Physiopedia is the largest physiotherapy resource in the world and has the largest social reach of the profession. It is therefore well placed to raise awareness of the amazing contribution that physiotherapy can make to health and well being. By sharing this knowledge other health care professionals have a better understanding of how to include physiotherapy into interdisciplinary care and individuals in need can understand how physiotherapy can help them achieve good health and well being.

20% of Physiopedia visitors are other health care professionals or the health seeking public wanting to learn more about physiotherapy.

The Physiopedia Story[edit | edit source]

In 2007 the e-learning community was going mad for wiki's and it was at an e-learning conference that Rachael was inspired to build a 'Wikipedia for the physiotherapy profession'.  

"Wouldn't it be great if all physiotherapists around the world were constantly creating and updating content to build one constantly evolving online textbook for our profession". ~ Rachael Lowe, Co-Founder and Trustee.

In 2008 Rachael and Tony set about implementing this idea as a small side project along side the e-learning work that they were doing together. The project launched quietly in January 2009 with three pages of content that Rachael had written herself. It wasn't long before universities around the world were engaging their students to contribute content to grow the resource. Now individual Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists from all areas of the profession are taking part in building this resource.

"We have proved that Physiopedia is a globally valued resource so we invite members of this profession to help us make it a sustainable project for the future". ~ Rachael Lowe, Co-Founder and Trustee.

Keeping Physiopedia non-commercial and finding a sustainable way to do this that the profession was happy with was important to Rachael and Tony. Partnerships with educational institutions, professional organisations and NGOs became the focus of attention and many groups engaged to contribute content and provide financial support.

Through the unique combination of clinical, educational and technical skills that Rachael and Tony have, in 2014 they launched Physioplus. This related premium content area provides equitable online continuing education and professional development opportunities in exchange for an annual modest contribution. The annual subscription income from this service contributes to funding the Physiopedia charity.

Physiopedia is now the largest Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy resource in the world, it is the largest provider of related online education, and it is a community driven project for our profession and everyone is invited to get involved

Mission[edit | edit source]

Improving global health through universal access to physiotherapy knowledge.

Vision[edit | edit source]

We aspire to gather the sum of all Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy knowledge and make this freely available to all.

Everyone has knowledge to share, so let's not hide it let's share it! All Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists are invited to participate in this collaborative project to build a continually evolving, evidenced based knowledge resource that will be openly and freely accessible to all across the world. Through this collaborative effort we aim to be the leading independent resource for the Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy profession.

We strive to reach and involve every Physiotherapist and Physical Therapist in the world.

Technology allows us to do amazing things! With our innovative and bespoke online platform we will have the potential to extend the Physiopedia project to Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists all over the world, in resourced and less resourced, remote and accessible countries alike.

We aim to foster international collaboration to empower the global Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy profession.

As a wiki, Physiopedia is perfectly suited to collaborative group authoring and can be edited by anyone with credentials in the Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy community. With this opportunity we invite Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists from all over the world to work together on contributing to, reviewing and continually improving the Physiopedia content for everyone to learn from.

We will offer educational opportunities to Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists throughout the world.

We will provide online educational opportunities for all. For educators Physiopedia provides a platform for engaging pre and post registration students in genuine assignments to develop and share knowledge as part of a formal education programme. Clinicians can use their participation in Physiopedia as part of their ongoing professional development and educational activities. Researchers may choose to share their expertise through this open option for publication. These opportunities extend to Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists throughout the world.

We aspire to improve patient care and make a positive contribution to global health.

Through developing individual professionals across the world, either by formal educational opportunities or informal independent study, Physiopedia will contribute to advancing the knowledge of these professionals which will translate into improved patient care. This is our contribution to improving global health.

We will enable promotion of the profession among the wider health care community and the public on a global scale.

Physiopedia has the opportunity to promote the value and expertise of our profession to other health care professionals and also to educate the public on how we can help them.  As a knowledge resource developed by the international Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy community it represents a truly global voice and so has the opportunity to do this on a global scale.

We will make a difference! We invite you to join us.

Values[edit | edit source]

Keep it simple. Be nice. Have fun. Make a difference.

Governance[edit | edit source]

Physiopedia is registered with the Charity Commission (registration number 1173185) and complies with the Charities Act 2011. The objects of the charity are, for the public benefit, to improve health globally by advancing education in relation to physiotherapy and improving access to physiotherapy knowledge.

Under UK law, the Physiopedia Charity is subject to section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and operates as a company limited by guarantee and not having share capital (registration number 08530802). Physiopedia’s constitution is set out in the Articles of Association which are filed at Companies House.

The Physiopedia Trustees have responsibility for the control and direction of the affairs of the charity. The Trustees are supported in their governance function by the Advisory Council. The Trustees and Advisory Council receive no remuneration for their duties.

Detailed objectives are set to deliver against these goals in a strategic plan that is reviewed every two year period. The objectives are decided by the Trustees with priorities and aims incorporated from the Advisory Council.

Annual Reports[edit | edit source]

Trustees Annual Report 2017-2018