The theory-practice gap and physiotherapy in the UK: Insights from the nursing experience

Abstract

The existence of a theory-practice gap in physiotherapy has not attracted wide attention or been the focus of sustained analysis within the profession. This is in stark contrast to nursing, where consideration of the relationship between theory and practice has received extensive coverage. The argument presented here suggests that it is an appropriate time for an examination of the role of theory and its relationship to practice in the discipline of physiotherapy and to draw on the experience in nursing as a basis for this enterprise. The overall contention is that, if debate and research around these issues is encouraged, subsequent examinations of the physiotherapy knowledge base may become better informed.