The theme for this year’s World PT Day on 8 September is the role of physiotherapy and physical activity in healthy ageing, with a focused look at preventing frailty and falls.
The campaign is focused around the following key messages.
- The pace of population ageing is much faster than at any time in history.
- In 2019, the number of people aged 60 years and older was 1 billion. This number will increase to 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050.
- The number of persons aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million.
- Getting older does not mean you must stop or do less of what you enjoy. Healthy ageing means staying active, maintaining relationships and doing what you value as you get older. Supportive environments that promote physical and mental wellbeing are essential for healthy ageing.
- Having a healthy lifestyle throughout your life will help you reduce the risk of many chronic diseases and improve your physical and mental wellbeing.
- Physiotherapists can advise on how to adopt a healthy lifestyle throughout your life and offer treatments and exercise plans to meet your changing needs.
- It’s never too late to start an exercise programme! People receive benefit from strength training at all ages - speak to a physiotherapist about how to strength train safely.
- Exercise is key to fall prevention - physiotherapists are experts in prescribing individualised exercise programmes to help improve your strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility.
- Injury from a fall is avoidable. Improving your balance can prevent falls. Being strong and flexible can prevent serious injury should you fall. Stay safe and independent - speak to a physiotherapist today on how to prevent falls!
- Physiotherapy can help you be as active as possible – people who are more active are up to 41% less likely to have frailty.
- A physiotherapist can develop an exercise programme for you and show you how to gradually increase the resistance and intensity to prevent and treat frailty. This will help to prevent loss of strength and muscle (sarcopenia) and make you fitter by increasing your aerobic and lung capacity.
World PT Day toolkit
The World PT Day toolkit has a range of materials to share the campaign in your country/territory, these include:
- information sheets
- posters
- pop-up roller banner designs
- an activities guide
- t-shirt design
- graphics to share on social media
An advocacy toolkit will be added to the campaign materials in July. The information sheets, posters and banners are currently available in English and will shortly also be available in French and Spanish. Volunteer translators are working on versions of the materials in other languages, which will be uploaded to our website as they become available.
World Physiotherapy would like to express its sincere thanks to the following for their input and assistance in the production of the materials for World PT Day 2025: International Association of Physiotherapists working with Older People (IPTOP); Melanie Farlie; Cathie Sherrington; and Dawn Skelton.
