A tribute to the life and work of G.D.

Maitland 19242010 by the International

Maitland Teachers Association
Geoff Maitland passed away peacefully on Friday 22 January 2010
almost one year after the death of his dear wife Anne. It is, there-
fore, a poignant time for the whole of the Physiotherapy World to
stop and reect upon the achievements and legacy of a man who
has done as much as anyone to shape and dene the Physiotherapy
profession as it is today.
Geoff and Anne were inseparable. Both of them possessed an
unshakable Christian faith and a strong Duty of Care. Anne, invari-
ably, would be present at his lectures, seminars and workshops. She
would give him honest feedback on his performance and tell him
how he could improve. He would add to this with his own self-
criticism. From the outset, they developed a robust internal moder-
ation system to ensure quality control and quality assurance of his
work.
A quote by Dr D.A. Brewerton in the foreword to Maitlands 1st
edition of Peripheral Manipulation [1970] sums up Geoff Maitlands
approach to his work as a Physiotherapist. Geoffrey Maitland is
well aware of the limitations of our knowledge and he is always
modest in describing his results. Undoubtedly he is putting forward
his own views with humility, hoping to promote discussion so that
others can improve on his own suggestions.
Geoff was a great listener and a great communicator. He placed
a great emphasis on the art and skill of listening [as opposed to just
hearing]. He would hang on every word his patients would say so
that he did not miss the subtle hints from the language or its
tone that would help himunderstand, in depth, what the individual
was experiencing. He would use every facet of the bodies capacity
to inform both verbal and non-verbal. He would spot the almost
imperceptible nuances of the patients responses to his treatment.
Only he would recognise, in a room full of students, the important
meaning of a patient drumming his ngers on the couch.
Geoff was a visionary and an innovator. In the preface to the rst
edition of Vertebral Manipulation [1964] he recognises The
practical approach to the use of manipulation is to relate treatment
to the patients symptoms and signs rather than to diagnosis and
that .it is often impossible to know what the true pathology
is.symptoms and signs [of a disc lesion] may vary widely and
require different treatments
His vision was instrumental in giving us what are now estab-
lished competencies, including, Patient-Centred Care, the use of
mobilisation for pain modulation, and an awareness of the nature
of the person and its impact on treatment. He highlighted the need
for deep and broad theoretical knowledge to support and inform
clinical practice. He advocated the discipline of evaluating every-
thing we do to prove our worth and with this came the use of
patient reported and orientated outcome measures [subjective
and functional asterisks] and the demand for accurate recording
of treatment and its effects.
Geoff was also at the forefront of research by Physiotherapists
for Physiotherapists at a time when it was seen as the role of the
Doctor to report on Physiotherapy and decide which Physiotherapy
modalities should be prescribed.
Geoff wrote extensively for the Australian Journal of Physio-
therapy as well as for other medical and Physiotherapy journals
world-wide. He wrote, for example, about Some observations on
Sciatic Scoliosis in 1961, The hypotheses of adding compression
when examining and treating synovial joints in 1980 and Movement
of pain-sensitive structures in the vertebral canal in a group of phys-
iotherapy students also in 1980.
Look in any respectable physiotherapy or manual therapy jour-
nal and you will see G.D. Maitland cited frequently. Researchers in
manual therapy are still referring back to Geoffs models for prac-
tice and using his descriptions of examination and treatment tech-
niques as their methodological standards.
Geoff was a great believer in quality education for Physiothera-
pists. In 1965 he ran the rst 3-month course on Manipulation of
the Spine based at the South Australian Institute of Technology in
Adelaide. In 1974 this course developed into the one-year post-
graduate diploma in Manipulative Physiotherapy and subsequently
became a Masters Degree course currently under the auspices of
Geoffs closest colleagues, Mr Mark Jones and Dr Mary Magarey.
Geoff always led from the front. As well as being active on
various Physiotherapy Committees and Boards in Australia, he
was well aware of the much bigger, International, picture and in
1974 was involved in the foundation of the International Federation
of Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapy [IFOMPT], a branch of the
WCPT. IFOMPTs founders wanted there to be a benchmark for
the teaching of manual therapy internationally. The 2008 IFOMPT
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Manual Therapy
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ mat h
1356-689X/$ see front matter
doi:10.1016/j.math.2010.02.004
Manual Therapy 15 (2010) 300301
Educational Standards Document is the culmination of such
a demand and forms the basis of manual therapy education pro-
grammes in its Member Countries.
The Maitland Concept is now a truly global phenomenon.
There will not be many National Physiotherapy Associations
throughout the World that will not be aware of Maitland. Geoffs
classic texts, Vertebral Manipulation, now in its 7th edition and
Peripheral Manipulation, now in its 4th edition, are available
world-wide and have been translated into several languages
including Japanese, Spanish and German. These Physiotherapy
books still feature in publishers best-seller lists.
The honours Geoff received during his career are a testament to
the esteemed regard in which he is held by the Physiotherapy
World. Notably he received the MBE in 1981 and The Mildred Elson
Award from the WCPT in 1995 for his lifes work.
The legacy of the lifes work of G.D. Maitland is assured and can
be seen developing within the work of others and their organisa-
tions. Take, for example, Mark Jones who has taken Geoffs decision
making process and developed it into a structured and evidence-
based Clinical Reasoning framework. David Butler and his NOI
have taken Geoffs early research on pain-sensitive structures in
the vertebral canal and Bob Elveys work on The Upper Limb
Tension Test and advanced our knowledge, skills and strategies
for dealing with neurogenic and other pain mechanisms. Peter
Wells and his colleagues from the MACP were greatly inuenced
by Geoffs work and teachings as they followed on fromGreg Grieve
in shaping the future of Manipulative Physiotherapy in the UK.
Gisela Rolf along with Geoff and Peter Wells helped to establish
the International Maitland Teachers Association [IMTA] which
has continued to serve many European Countries with quality
Manual Therapy education based on Geoffs principles and practice.
In summary, G.D. Maitland supported by Anne and his close
family and colleagues has established his place in our Professions
History. He is the Donald Bradman of Physiotherapists. Sir Donald,
a fellowAustralian, had a career Test Match batting average of 99.94
and, as with Geoff, many have aspired to reach such a standard but
none, to date, have come anywhere near.
With Great Sadness
The Chairman and members of The International Maitland
Teachers Association
A tribute to the life and work of G.D. Maitland / Manual Therapy 15 (2010) 300301 301