I don't know if many people are wondering like the admin that when we have pain and go to see a physical therapist, how can they assess what disease we have or what part of our body is abnormal? Today, the admin would like to interview Phi Seng, Pharm. Chawakit Kao-ian, founder of the brand Mr. Big, and Phi Mac, Pharm. Setthasak Sirikamnerd, a physical therapist at Mr. Big Clinic who has more than 15 years of experience in the physical therapy industry.
In the eyes of experienced physical therapists, when they see the body, what do they often see that is different from the eyes of ordinary people?
Phi Mack: When a patient comes to the clinic, physical therapists are taught by instinct to look at every movement to see if there are any imbalances. By observing a lot and seeing cases often, they gain more experience in observing patients. It's like some teachers see a patient walking and know what's wrong. They examine the patient's body a little more.
Phi Seng: Since studying, we will be able to touch every muscle except the smooth muscles inside the body. But we saw and learned from the headmaster directly. I remember every detail. After we know what muscles, joints, bones, nerves, and tendons are like, we will know what normal and abnormal body movements are like, what causes them, and what will happen in the long run. This is instilled since studying. When we come out to live, we will develop the behavior of secretly observing people, their standing and walking postures, and then think about what pain they might have, what illness they have, etc.
Brother Seng, Brother Mack, how long have you had experience in the physical therapy industry?
Phi Seng: I graduated in 2006 from Mahidol University. I worked as a physical therapist in a private hospital for about 2 and a half years. After that, I resigned to start my own business.
Phi Mack: As for me, I graduated from the same place as Seng in 2006. After that, I have been working with patients all the time in the clinical field, both in Thailand and abroad. I have seen patients of all types, including neurological disorders, stroke, paralysis, muscle weakness, and patients with various muscle pain problems.
Phi Seng: Both types require visual skills. And there is another type that requires visual skills, which is "children". When we work with children, we have to use a lot of visual intuition and observation, such as looking at how they must move at this age and what they lack.
What are the most common problems that Phi Seng and Phi Mack encounter in children?
Phi Seng: The children that are commonly found are those who have problems with lack of oxygen since in the womb and after leaving the mother's womb, and children who have developmental delays that are genetic. Children with developmental delays are more difficult to notice abnormalities.
Phi Mac: For me, in the past, I saw many children with the problems that Seng mentioned. But recently, I found that the children had more and more pain problems. Before, when we studied, we knew that the children didn't really have pain, but now that the child is 9 years old, his mother brought him for consultation because he had neck pain, which is likely due to the child's behavior of being with his mobile phone and iPad, which has led to him starting to have more pain problems.
Mr. Seng: In the past, children often had pain from carrying heavy bags to school. But now, bags are not so heavy, but rather they use their bodies in the wrong position with cell phones and computers.
If you were to compare yourself to something, what would P'Seng and P'Mack compare themselves to?
Phi Mack: From my perspective, who has been working in the clinical field all my life, I think of myself as a scanner at an airport. When we walk past it, it tells us what is hidden, what foreign objects are there. From a physical therapist’s perspective, they look to see if the patient has a hidden problem. It could be a scoliosis, a pulled muscle, or there is a problem inside. Physical therapists have two tools: their eyes to analyze and their hands to look at the scan to see if there is anything unusual.
Phi Seng: I compare myself to a policeman who catches wrongdoers. But my nature is to catch people who are acting wrong, so I will nudge them to change their position. If someone is standing with their stomach bent, I will nudge them to pull their stomachs together and pull up the top button.
Can anyone master PT Vision skills? How much experience is required?
Phi Seng: Physical therapists already have knowledge about this, but you have to practice until you are an expert. For example, I saw someone come to our booth and said that they had a lot of neck pain and wanted a pillow to help solve their problem. When we saw them, we could tell that they probably had Bamboo Spine. When I first graduated, I didn’t know what Bamboo Spine was like. I couldn’t even look at it. But I had met and treated patients with this condition before, so I saw what the symptoms of this disease were and learned how to assess the patient’s symptoms and provide them with treatment quickly.
I would like to know what the Bamboo spine disease that Brother Seng mentioned is?
Phi Seng: Bamboo spine is a disease in which the vertebrae are fused together. Normally, each joint of the spine should have jelly-like gel connecting them, but with Bamboo spine, there is only calcium attached to form a hard bamboo tube, making it impossible to bend or turn. For these symptoms, you should get a blood test, consult an orthopedic doctor, and see a physical therapist to help reduce pain and prevent complications, because patients with Bamboo spine cannot breathe fully and their bones become brittle.
Sitting hurts, lying down hurts. How do you know what's causing the pain?
Phi Seng: We have to find out the cause of the pain first, what activities made the pain worse, what activities made the pain less, when did the pain start, and what activities caused the pain after. This will allow us to predict what the pain is from and what it is related to. But if you ask what the pain is from,