Four new, international and multidisciplinary experts will join the editorial board of Physical Therapy: The Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), an international, scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, and the official publiction of the APTA, Alexandria, Va.

They are: Rachelle Buchbinder, MBBS (Hons), MSc, PhD, FRACP; Paul JM Helders, PT, PhD; Chris J Main, PhD, FBPsS; and Val Robertson, PT, PhD. P

Buchbinder is the journal’s first rheumatologist editorial board member. Also an epidemiologist, she is director of the Monash department of clinical epidemiology at Cabrini Hospital, Malvern, Victoria, Australia. Buchbinder has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles on a wide range of soft-tissue disorders (low back pain, adhesive capsulitis, plantar fasciitis) in a range of journals, from NEJM to Health and Quality of Life Outcomes.

Helders has been an editorial board member since February, and has experience in peer-reviewed publication, including more than 200 articles on developmental pediatrics, pediatric rehabilitation, and pediatric physical therapy. He serves on the editorial board of Pediatric Physical Therapy and is USA member of the editorial board of Disability and Rehabilitation. Helders heads the department of pediatric physiotherapy and pediatric exercise physiology and is member of the scientific staff, University Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands, where he was formerly chief of staff.

Main adds a psychosocial perspective to PTJ’s musculoskeletal content. His research and teaching focus on pain and disability, obstacles to recovery, secondary prevention, outcome prediction, and measurement, and his publication record includes more than 70 papers in journals ranging from Psychology, Health & Medicine to the British Journal of Dermatology. Main established the first interdisciplinary program for low back pain in the UK, and practiced for more than 25 years as a clinical health psychologist with a specialty in musculoskeletal conditions. In 2005, he was appointed full-time professor of psychology (pain management) in the Arthritis Research Campaign National Primary Care Research Centre at Keele University, UK.

Robertson has been a PTJ manuscript reviewer for several years and also has contributed to the Journal as an author of articles and invited commentaries. She is professor of allied health and holds a joint position with University of Newcastle and North Sydney Central Coast Health. With some 60 peer-reviewed publications, her research interests focus on electrotherapeutic and physical modalities. She has published in a wide range of journals, including Australian & New Zealand Journal of Surgery, Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Manual Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

[Source: APTA]