ORIGINAL PAPER Copyright © 2018 Vincent Pol University in Lublin, Poland Arch Phys Glob Res 2019; 23 (1): 7-11 DOI 10.15442/apgr.23.1.1 Introduction Physiotherapy is a health profession whose primary purpose is the promotion of optimal health and function. Tis purpose is accomplished through the application of evidence-based principles tothe processes of examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention to prevent or remedy impairments in body structures, activity limitations, participation restrictions or environmental barriers, related to movement and health [1]. Flourishing research activities have contributed to its development, and it has become a profession with distinct autonomy, identity and with a knowledge base [2]. Te profession of physiotherapy is still faced with the challenges of being misunderstood, misconstrued, under-recognized, and undervalued, particularly in Nigeria. Tis stems from a lack of understanding of its meaning, scope and placement within the healthcare setting, sometimes even by fellow healthcare service providers [3]. A cross-sectional survey study, conducted by Mbada et al. [4] to determine the professional identity of physiotherapists as perceived by the general public, has demonstrated that only 16.8% of rural dwellers are aware of physiotherapy profession; moreover, the majority (60%) of study participants associated physiotherapy with masseurs and 30.8% with physicians. Testudy fndings are disconcerting and have serious implications for the profession of physiotherapy. However, there is a dearth of literature reports on the perception of professional identity of physiotherapy in Northern Nigeria; therefore, the aim of the present study was to review thesocial perception of professional identity of physiotherapy based on the identity theory. Physiotherapy Identity: Confusion surrounding the title “Gashi” in Northern Nigeria Umar L. 1 , Bashir Bello Abdullahi 2 , Ekechukwu E.N.D. 3 1 Department of Physiotherapy, Federal Medical Centre, Azare, Nigeria 2 Department of Physiotherapy Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Kano 3 Department of Medical Rehabilitation, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nigeria Abstract Physiotherapy is a branch of medical science that deals with the treatment of injuries and/or disorders by using physical agents. Health care providers have attempted to classify physical agents, mechanical modalities, and/or electrotherapy as “Physiotherapy.”Clinicians identifed with a system of the body are more easily recognized for their expertise. Physiotherapy does not provide ready association with content expertise. Physiotherapy was describedin Hausa language as ‘’Gashi’’, loosely translated as ‘’roasting or fre’’. According to physiotherapy terminology, the term ‘’Gashi’’ describes heat therapy. However, Hausas ‘’Gashi’’ widely refers not only to heat therapy, but physiotherapy practice in general. Te term ‘’Gashi’’ has limited the scope of physiotherapy practice. Hence, describing physiotherapy as ‘’Gashi’’ is a gross misrepresentation and the greatest misnomer of the perception of physiotherapy and physiotherapists in the Northern Nigeria. Terefore, it was suggested that the word ‘’Gashi’’ should be changed and replaced with “Physiotherapy” written in Hausa language transliteration as FISIYOTERAFI. Key words: physiotherapy, heat therapy, Northern Nigeria