Tell me why everyone should do physiotherapy

Gulf News

Christine Juatas, Physiotherapist at NeoHealth, explains to Maria Botros on this week’s Tell Me Why podcast episode why physiotherapy is for everyone, not just those with serious injuries.  Christine: Physiotherapists aid in the diagnosis and treatment of any physical problems When we do daily tasks repetitively, it causes micro traumas on muscle fibers, says Christine Christine: Physiotherapists are like detectives, they look for the root cause of a problem The most common cases I’ve seen in patients are knee osteoarthritis, lower back pain and cervical pain, says Christine  Read the full story here:   See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km

Transcript

00:00How important is physiotherapy?

00:02Physiotherapy plays a vital role in assessing and also aids in the diagnosis of different physical problems.

00:10It's just not limited to those who currently have injuries.

00:13It's also like when we do tasks every day, especially if we're doing it repetitively,

00:19it causes microtraumas. We call it microtraumas on muscle fibers.

00:23They develop functional limitations when they do daily tasks.

00:27So that's going to be a big problem in the long term.

00:43All right. All right. It's a new Tuesday.

00:45And as promised, you have a new episode of Tell Me Why.

00:49With me in the studio is Christine Huatas, who is a physiotherapist at NeoHealth.

00:54Christine, how are you?

00:55Good. Thank you for asking.

00:57Christine, I love the topic that we're going to talk about today

01:00because there are so many misconceptions about physiotherapy.

01:04And I think a lot of people treat physiotherapy as a reactive measure rather than preventative.

01:11And that's something that we have learned more and more, like in life, that it's not practical,

01:18that you need to be doing physiotherapy as a regular, you know, type of therapy.

01:24And we're just going to discuss everything.

01:26I mean, the Olympics just ended, so we're going to talk about,

01:29you know, athlete health and Olympic athletes' health

01:32and the importance of physiotherapy in their usual routine.

01:35We're going to talk about injuries. We're going to talk about recovery.

01:37But before we get started, I want you to define what physiotherapy is.

01:43Physiotherapy is a profession that is mainly concerned with human function,

01:49the human body, and then the physical potential the person may have.

01:56So in our field, we aid in the diagnosis and treatment of different physical problems

02:02associated with different systems of the body.

02:05So that's like musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiac, and respiratory systems.

02:10Okay. How long have you been doing this? And like, what do you do now?

02:14Tell us a bit more about your experience. And do you specialize in anything specific?

02:20I've been a physiotherapist in the Philippines for almost six years.

02:24And from my previous work, we mostly dealt with musculoskeletal and neurological conditions,

02:31as well as providing prosthetic training to amputees.

02:35And we also treated children with cerebral palsies, cognitive delays, and then,

02:42I mean, developmental delays and congenital deformities.

02:47So I currently work at NeoHealth, which is a home healthcare company.

02:53So aside from physiotherapy, we also provide other diverse range of services.

03:00So we have an amazing GP on call. So if you have any, like, health concerns

03:05and consultations for, and prescriptions for IV therapy, she also does that.

03:11And we also have our midwife, who is knowledgeable in pre, post, and antenatal care.

03:17And also we have skilled nurses, healthcare assistants, and caregivers

03:21who provide elderly care, child care.

03:26And also we have licensed nurses who administer IV therapy.

03:32So you were saying it's a home health service. That means you go to the patients.

03:36Yes.

03:36Oh, that's amazing. Okay. And something like physiotherapy, I'm sure that's

03:40very effective because some people might have severe injuries that,

03:43you know, movement is not as easy for them.

03:46So do you find that effective to go to the person's home and to treat them there?

03:51Yes. I think especially if they don't have anyone or the accessibility is a problem.

03:58And also, like, if we treat them at their most convenient time.

04:04So sometimes they want the therapy, like, after work.

04:08So, for example, if you're in a clinic, you're just limited to this time range.

04:12So sometimes if you want the therapy after work, then we can arrange that.

04:17Yeah. Amazing. Amazing.

04:19Okay. So diving into our topic, and I think it's one that we should address.

04:26How important is physiotherapy?

04:29Is it for the everyday person or is it just for the people that are injured?

04:35Physiotherapy plays a vital role in assessing and also aids in the diagnosis of

04:42different physical problems.

04:43So it's just not limited to those who currently have injuries.

04:48It's also like when we do tasks every day, especially if we're doing it repetitively.

04:55So it causes microtraumas.

04:57We call it microtraumas on muscle fibers, and that predisposes the person to have these

05:02injuries. So usually when they experience this, it may interfere with their sleep, their work.

05:11They develop functional limitations when they do daily tasks.

05:15So that's going to be a big problem in the long term.

05:20Might lead to other health implications, basically.

05:24Okay. So the everyday person should actually opt for physiotherapy.

05:29Yes, if it's actually really bothersome for them.

05:33But also it's good that if, for example, you want to have an assessment, like you have

05:39something like a neck pain or a low back pain that's been bothering you for quite some time.

05:44So as a physiotherapist, you're like a detective.

05:47You're trying to look for the root cause, because usually if you're drinking medication

05:53for pain, it's just a temporary fix.

05:56But if you have a full assessment of the underlying cause, it's going to give you long term

06:02benefits.

06:03As a physiotherapist, what are some of the common injuries that you've seen?

06:07Before I treated those with musculoskeletal injuries, such as knee osteoarthritis, low

06:16back pain, and also cervical pain.

06:19So these are the most common injuries that you see in people.

06:22Okay.

06:23What are the rarest?

06:25The rarest I've treated was a pediatric case.

06:28It's called muscular dystrophies.

06:31So it's like there's a problem with the gene.

06:35So there's a gene mutation which causes abnormalities.

06:40So the protein that it kind of produces that's responsible for healthy muscles is not working

06:49well.

06:49So that causes loss of muscle mass and also weakness.

06:55And also there's wrist pain, Decker veins, tenosynovitis.

07:00So I think I only treated once with Abdes.

07:06But in other countries, it's more common.

07:09Okay.

07:10Wrist pain.

07:11Yeah, wrist pain.

07:12It's like a swollen or inflamed tendon.

07:14Interesting.

07:16Very, very interesting.

07:17Okay.

07:17As a physiotherapist, though, how do you determine how many sessions a person needs?

07:24It actually depends on the patient's case.

07:27So for example, if he or she is still at a hospital, they might need daily physiotherapy

07:34sessions.

07:35And then once after their discharge, three sessions.

07:41And then once they get better, two sessions in a week is okay.

07:46But the frequency usually depends on the person's goals and needs.

07:52Okay.

07:54I want to actually build up on that.

07:57Let's say I had an injury and I did do my physiotherapy and I finished all my sessions.

08:04Is it like a one-time fix or is it something that I should keep doing so that I can avoid

08:09the recurrence of this injury?

08:11I think it's something that you should practice consistently because you already know what

08:20the triggers are.

08:22So we don't want it to happen again.

08:25And sometimes if you've had injuries before, so it kind of predisposes you to have that

08:31same injury after a while if you become deconditioned again.

08:35So it's better that you be consistent.

08:38Right, right.

08:40Earlier you mentioned how taking certain medications might just numb that pain or mask

08:50the pain that you have from an injury, but it doesn't actually solve it.

08:54So does physiotherapy actually help you recover?

08:57Can physiotherapy help you recover from an injury fully?

09:01It also depends on the type of injury because in some cases there are degenerative or progressive

09:07ones like arthritis.

09:10So what we can only do is to manage the symptoms and prevent it from worsening.

09:16And also to prevent the need for surgeries.

09:20So usually that's the last option.

09:23Okay.

09:23And what happens if someone neglects an injury and doesn't do their physiotherapy sessions?

09:29There are actually some cases like adhesive scapulitis or frozen, we call it frozen

09:35shoulders, joint stiffness on the shoulder.

09:38So it kind of recovers in itself, on itself, on its own.

09:43But it might take a longer time.

09:46And some people who've had it, they can't return to their full range after they have

09:54it without any intervention.

09:56And also if you have Achilles tendinopathies or injuries, if you keep on overloading it

10:04without any intervention, it might cause that tendon to rupture.

10:09And then that would need surgical intervention for that.

10:13And also arthritis, knee arthritis.

10:16If you don't have any intervention, it's going to be painful after a while.

10:21And then it's going to cause joint stiffness.

10:24And then you might need knee replacements as a last resort.

10:30Right.

10:30If you can't tolerate the pain anymore.

10:32And what causes recurring injuries?

10:36Like why is it that sometimes some injuries keep coming back, even if you're doing the

10:41physiotherapy?

10:43One reason is like repetitive movements.

10:46So it causes microtrauma to muscle fibers.

10:50The second one is overtraining.

10:52So like you, you like run for an extra mile and then you become, your body feels ache

11:02and then pain and then it causes muscle fatigue.

11:06In addition to that, are there any like technological innovations or like solutions

11:12that physiotherapists use today to help Olympic athletes or just athletes or injured individuals?

11:20One of the technological innovations would be shockwave therapy.

11:25So it's like a machine that sends like sound waves on an area.

11:32And then this sound waves sends mechanical signals towards the brain.

11:39And then the brain will perceive it as that area's injury.

11:43So it's going to send more nutrients in that area.

11:45So it's going to, it's like promoting tissue healing.

11:49So can you name maybe like three, three, you know, steps that people can do either in the

11:56office or at home if they're working from home that they should do, you know, to avoid

12:03the discomfort or the pain or injuries in the future.

12:08Like maybe like stretching your net, getting up, keeping the computer, like what are your

12:12top three, you know, steps?

12:17Usually like, for example, if you're like using a gadget.

12:21So the more that you look down, the more like weight your neck has.

12:29So it's going to overwork your deep neck muscles here.

12:34So that's going to cause pain.

12:36So the better option is to have it in eye level.

12:39So if you have a pillow, you can just have your elbows supported or your arms supported

12:44like this.

12:45And then if you're working at a computer, it should also be at, the monitor should also

12:49be at eye level.

12:51And then another thing is avoiding prolonged sitting.

12:57So as much as possible, you know your body better than anyone.

13:01So if you're feeling like you're a bit aching, so it's time to move or try to have like a

13:08few like a walk around the office or at home and then try to do some stretches.

13:17And then the last one is make sure that the computer or the keyboard, if you're using

13:25it in the office, it's not too far from you.

13:27So it's best that your elbows are supported and your back also has like a lumbar pillow

13:34if you have so that your trunk won't be slouched like that.

13:39Amazing.

13:40That's great advice, honestly.

13:42And I think I don't do any of these things.

13:45I mean, as horrible as that sounds.

13:48And I think what the major one that resonated with me because I did have, I mean, neck,

13:54severe neck pain last year and I had to wear a neck support and I was on, you know, very

14:00heavy medication to help me recover from it.

14:03It's because of the gadgets.

14:04It's because of looking down and straining those muscles and the vertebrates in your

14:10neck.

14:10And I think it's one that we neglect the most.

14:14We're always on our phones.

14:15Yeah, always the long term practices that's causing the pain.

14:19Exactly.

14:19And it wasn't because it was done overnight.

14:21It wasn't like, oh, yesterday I did something.

14:23It was because of long periods of time of doing the wrong thing.

14:27Christine, thank you so much for your time.

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