Elizabeth Kenny photo

Elizabeth Kenny

Elizabeth Kenny was an unaccredited Australian nurse who promoted a controversial new approach to the treatment of poliomyelitis in the era before mass vaccination eradicated the disease in most countries. Her findings ran counter to conventional medical wisdom; they demonstrated the need to exercise muscles affected by polio instead of immobilizing them. Kenny's principles of muscle rehabilitation became the foundation of physical therapy, or physiotherapy.


“It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.”
Elizabeth Kenny
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“He who angers you conquers you.”
Elizabeth Kenny
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