APA Mourns the Passing of Outstanding Physiotherapist

Australian Physiotherapy Association President Pat Maher has expressed his great sympathy to the family of Geoffrey Maitland M.B.E.

"Mr Maitland was an outstanding beacon for physiotherapy in Australia and internationally and his news of passing is met with deep sadness in the global physiotherapy community."

Born in South Australia, Mr Maitland pioneered manual therapy in Australia. He trained as a physiotherapist at the University of Adelaide and later became a clinical tutor at the South Australian physiotherapy school. Around this time he began to develop a special interest in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders of the spine, and over time he became an international authority on the subject. He studied and travelled widely, and compiled knowledge from a wide variety of sources. He also made numerous first-hand clinical observations. As a result of all this he devised his own ‘Maitland' approach to manipulation which was subsequently adopted across the profession.

Geoff Maitland became a substantial contributor to the "Australian Journal of Physiotherapy" as well as to other medical and physiotherapy journals world wide. He was one of the cofounders, in 1974, of the International Federation of Orthopedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT), a branch of the World Confederation of Physiotherapy (WCPT).

Mr Maher said "The vast majority of Australians who have seen a physiotherapist for back pain in the last forty years will have been treated with a technique developed by Geoffrey Maitland. His commitment to our profession, innovation, professional and academic success have all become cornerstones of modern physiotherapy practice."

Mr Maitland passed away on peacefully on Friday January 22nd 2010 aged 86.

Contact Danielle Elston on 0423 208 289 - a full obituary will be available to the media on Monday February 1st 2010.

Click here for the PDF version of the media release.