1. Introduction and instructions

Hello and welcome.

This workbook has been collated in response to your interview requests  for signposting and advice about how you can prepare your academic knowledge and skills for the start of the Physiotherapy Apprenticeship.

The current physio apprentices suggested two topics to focus your preparation time and energies on. The first is human biology (the first 5 chapters of this workbook) and the second was academic writing ( the last chapter). 

There is a lot in here, so be selective with where you start and maybe prioritise chapters about topics you are least familiar with. You do not need to work through the chapters in sequence.

Navigate the workbook via the side panel on the right.

Human biology: anatomy and physiology

Two complementary branches of science—anatomy and  physiology—provide the concepts that help us to understand the  human body.

Anatomy studies the structure of body parts and their relationships to one another. Anatomy has a certain appeal because it is concrete. Body structures can be seen, felt, and examined closely. You don’t need to imagine what they look like. Physiology concerns the function of the body, in other words, how the body parts work and carry out their life-sustaining activities. When all is said and done, physiology is explainable only in terms of the underlying anatomy.

Your first module in the Physiotherapy Apprenticeship assumes you have a broad grasp of 'normal' anatomy and physiology and builds upon this to explore common pathological anatomical and pathological physiological issues that cause people to consult physiotherapists.  The purpose of the first 5 chapters of this workbook are to help you refresh some key 'normal' anatomy and physiology concepts in preparation for this module. 

There are videos to watch, text to read and tasks/questions to complete in this book. Your engagement  will not be monitored and you will not need to submit evidence of your answers. The resources and information is provided for guidance, to help you feel prepared for starting the apprenticeship only.

There is likely to be a lot of new language and some of the resources included  use technical anatomical terminology; such as flexion-extension and proximal-distal. Therefore, before you start with the main content watch the two video's below which explain some of this terminology for you, and keep a list of new words you aren't sure about and we can review when you get into the first module.

Anatomical Positions and Directions (approx 13 mins)

 

Joint Movements ( approx 6 mins)