Physio heal thyself? Structure, self and capacity for healthy living among UK physiotherapists

Purpose: While extensive evidence indicates that allied healthcare practitioners (AHPs) in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) are exemplary in their clinical work, there is a further body of research that suggests they do not always lead by example. Contemporary government data indicates that there are surprisingly high rates of obesity, smoking behaviours and alcohol consumption among NHS employees of this order, a generally poor level of water consumption, and inconsistent dietary behaviours and exercise habits. When subjected to detailed scrutiny, however, these data are seen to peak in contexts where short-staffing prevails, and work pressure is particularly high – a fairly consistent state for most contemporary AHPs. Research disaggregating physiotherapists from these overall AHP data remains partial at best. There is little robust evidence to date that specifically indexes how physiotherapists live their healthy (or unhealthy) lives, nor the working contexts that make sense of their particular behaviours. Given the above, this paper reports findings from a study explicitly designed to qualitatively unpack the pragmatic experiences of practicing physiotherapists, and their reflections on how this everyday work impacts upon their capacity to maintain a healthy lifestyle.