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
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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
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NewsTranscript
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.