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Abstract
Government policy and the current ethos of the NHS promotes a patient-centred approach to healthcare, where patients are encouraged to take an active, rather than a passive role. How this affects the power distribution in the therapeutic relationship has yet to be sufficiently considered. The aim of this paper is to explore the power dynamic in physiotherapeutic interactions. The relative scarcity of physiotherapy related research in this area has lead to a wider review of literature from related professions. The evidence reveals a diversity of power manifestations constructing the framework of the therapeutic relationship which exposes a complex interplay of patient, physiotherapist and external environmental variables. There is a dialectic of control whereby both sides of the dyad have access to power sources. Common perceptions of power distribution within therapist–patient interaction are demonstrated. There remains however, a paucity of concrete research to substantiate the substantial body of abstract theory.