World Physiotherapy Day 8 September
World Physiotherapy Day is coming up on 8 September, and this year’s theme focuses on the role of physiotherapy and physical activity in the prevention, management and rehabilitation of cardiovascular disease and stroke, as part of the wider four-year focus on noncommunicable diseases.
We encourage members to mark the day in their workplace and take the opportunity to highlight the vital role of physiotherapy in supporting cardiovascular health. A range of campaign materials is available to support local promotion and engagement.
You can find the toolkit here
When sharing activities, please:
- Use the hashtags #WPTD26 #ChooseChartered
- Tag the Society in your posts
- Send photos and highlights from your events to the Communications team for inclusion in the ezine, social media, and Firsthand
We look forward to seeing how members across the country celebrate and promote the profession.
Key Messages
The campaign is focused on the following key messages:
Cardiovascular disease
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally.
- Each year, cardiovascular disease (CVD) claims over 20.5 million lives - representing over 30% of all global deaths. 85% of these are due to heart attack and stroke. Over three quarters of CVD deaths occur in LMICs.
- Physiotherapists can help to prevent CVD. They:
can help identify people at higher risk of heart disease
design safe, personalised exercise programmes
encourage regular physical activity
promote early detection and early action
spot warning signs - Physiotherapists can help people manage their CVD, become more active, and reduce the chance of further cardiac events, such as a heart attack.
Stroke
- 1 in 4 of us will have a stroke in our lifetime, but almost all strokes can be prevented.
- Just 30 minutes of exercise five times a week can reduce your risk of stroke by 25%.
- Physiotherapists play an important role in reducing stroke risk, especially by supporting people to be more physically active and manage long term health conditions.
- Rehabilitation is an important part of recovery after a stroke - it helps people get back to doing everyday activities, improves quality of life, and supports independence.
- Exercise-based physiotherapy has been shown to improve physical function, mobility, balance, and quality of life at all stages of stroke recovery — from hospital care to long term community rehabilitation.
