Moving Forward Together: Advancing Physical Therapy Education for Indigenous Peoples’ Musculoskeletal Health

The Moving Forward Together series is a collective effort developed to inform, guide and inspire musculoskeletal physical therapists to bring Indigenous health to the forefront of their work in clinical practice, research and education and to strengthen their roles in allyship and advocacy for Indigenous Communities. In the fourth article of the ‘Moving Forward Together’ series, we highlight how physical therapy education can influence, and have responsibility for, improving students’ knowledge and skills to care for Indigenous Peoples who are living with musculoskeletal conditions. Through a collaborative process, our group—comprising Indigenous educators from Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia and Canada—has reflected on current initiatives, explored future directions, and offered suggestions on how physical therapists can contribute to positive change within Indigenous musculoskeletal education. An interconnected approach positions students to graduate as physical therapists, capable of demonstrating cultural humility to provide reflective, strengths-based and relational culturally-safe healthcare to all people with musculoskeletal conditions.