Report from the 17 th World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) 2015 Congress in Singapore

Between 1 and 4 May 2015, I participated in the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress (WCPT) 2015 in Singapore. The Congress took place at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, and attracted 3500 attendants. In total, 572 oral reports were given and 1578 posters were presented. Furthermore, 25 focused symposia, 11 panel discussions, 18 seminars and 36 networking session were organised. The level of discussions varied. I found the reports concerning the application of new post-stroke rehabilitation methods to be the most interesting, and especially the session entitled ‘Best practice for arm recovery post-stroke: an international application’, presented by Professors Steven Wolf from Atlanta, Gert Kwakkel from Amsterdam, Mark Bayley from Toronto and Michelle McDonnell from Adelaide. At the poster session, I presented a study entitled ‘Effects of gait training with partial body-weight support (PBWS) in the early stage after a stroke – a preliminary report’ (by Jarosław Szczygieł and Józef Opara). The World Confederation for Physical Therapy brings together approximately 23 thousand physical therapists from all over the world. It was announced that the outgoing WCPT President, Marilyn Moffat, has been succeeded by Emma Stokes from Dublin. The next congress will be held between 2 and 4 July 2017 in Cape Town.