With sadness on the passing of Geoffrey Maitland 22.01.2010

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In January we as Editors met face to face in the UK whilst Gwen Jull was en route to a speaking engagement in Spain and a well deserved short holiday. This is not a common occurrence as usually our contact is by email, telephone, Skype or snatched conversations at conferences. We hadn’t conversed face-to-face since IFOMT 2008 in Rotterdam, so a meeting was overdue. When we met we talked about a range of issues relating to Manual Therapy Journal and about general movements and activities in terms of research in the UK and Australia. Suddenly, our conversation turned to Geoffrey Maitland and Gwen updated me as to how he was when she had last heard, around about Christmas time. We spent some time thinking about Geoff and the massive contribution he had made to the growth of manual therapy in the physiotherapy profession. We reflected on our last meetings with him in Australia. I particularly reflected on my first meeting with him in Melbourne and my first experience of hearing him as a speaker at IFOMT 1988 in Cambridge in the UK. At the congress, in front of 200 people, Geoff examined an unseen patient, a male patient, who I believe was a traveller. He was a very shy man who had had spinal problems for some time and was clearly experiencing much physical discomfort. Being in front of an audience of 200 people was probably equally discomforting and this gentleman’s physical problem clearly needed some time on behalf of the therapist to unravel the real problems and to undertake a thorough clinical reasoning process. In this situation many presenters might tend to focus on the audiences’ needs rather than those of the patient simply because of time constraints and the objective of living up to the expectations of the audience. Geoff, however, was different. There was no question as to who the most important person was in the auditorium – it was the patient. Geoff sat with his back to the audience, close to the patient who he shielded from the audience. We could, however, all hear the conversation that was in flow and the careful and meaningful dialogue that ensued and we could see later the very gentle but purposeful examination that took place. The audience was transfixed, enraptured and silent. The man who advocated listening in his early textbooks really did listen and he was an exemplar in terms of patient-centred care and an example to us all. I already had a great respect for Geoffrey Maitland and knowledge of his approach changed my practice hugely as I am sure it has for thousands of physiotherapists worldwide. Geoff’s performance at the IFOMT conference was exemplary and yet so understated, It is an event that I shall remember forever and one that I think significantly influenced my clinical practice, my teaching and even my approach to research.

When I met Geoffrey Maitland in Melbourne some years later he was once more very person-centred, self-effacing, humble, genuine and felt truly like someone you could trust. His position during that conversation was clear. He praised eclectic approaches to musculoskeletal therapy and he was very welcoming of new and future developments in the discipline.

A few days after our Editors’ meeting, Gwen and I discovered that Geoffrey Maitland had passed away on 22nd January, the day when we had been together and had spoken about him. This was a very poignant moment. The tributes to Geoffrey Maitland in this issue give very warm and informative accounts of his life and his achievements. This Editorial pays tribute to Geoffrey Maitland the person and his person-centred philosophy and acknowledges his passing with deep regret.

With sadness and deep respect.