Environmental Physiotherapy: A New Lens for Patient Care

In this episode, Filip Maric, PT, PhD and Emma Swardh, PT, PhD introduce the field of environmental physiotherapy and invite clinicians to think beyond the walls of the clinic.

Rather than limiting sustainability to recycling, energy use, or clinic operations, environmental physiotherapy asks a deeper question: What do health, environment, society, and physical therapy have to do with each other?

The conversation explores how environmental factors influence patient care, including heat waves, air pollution, unsafe walking routes, access to movement spaces, health behavior, physical activity, and adherence. Philip and Emma also discuss the role of physical therapy in sustainable healthcare, including prevention, health promotion, lower-footprint care, and avoiding unnecessary or low-value interventions.

For clinicians, the takeaway is practical: start asking better questions about the patient’s environment. Where are they moving? What has changed around them? Is their environment helping or limiting their recovery?

This episode offers a timely and thought-provoking look at how physical therapy can contribute to human health, planetary health, and more complete clinical reasoning.

Key Takeaways:

• Environmental physiotherapy is broader than clinic sustainability.
• The patient’s environment can influence movement, adherence, pain, access, and recovery.
• Physical therapy may be a lower-footprint healthcare option compared with more resource-intensive pathways.
• Prevention, health promotion, and avoiding unnecessary care are part of sustainable healthcare.
• Clinicians can start immediately by asking more curious questions about where and how patients move.
• Physical activity can support human health and planetary health, but context matters.

Links:

Environmental Physiotherapy Association: https://environmentalphysio.com/