“My work starts at 9 am, and I’m romancing my laptop for nine straight hours…”
It’s Rey’s most favorite litany every day, summarizing all the things he does from the time he enters, until the time he exits. For five years working in Dubai as a medical insurance claim processor, his routine never changed.
Rey Anthony Villacorta, 31 years old did not expect that his excessive office work eventually led to worst health condition.
Hard work means work is hard
Exhausted. Tired. These are usual scenarios of people working in the office for very long hours. Long-time seating, doing no extra movements at all is the common reason for many. Well for Rey, these entire long-seating duties pretty seem normal to him, since he needs to accomplish all the tasks assigned to him, even if he’s already tired.
“I process medical insurance claims every day, whether direct billing or reimbursement. I accept calls from different hospitals and clinics for their requests that need immediate approval,” he said.
Until one day…
“My back ached and it was so painful that I can’t even imagine and bear the pain. It felt like there were a thousand needles piercing my back down to my legs,” Rey described.
He immediately asked for medical help because it affected his work and his personal life. Taking medicines at that time was not enough.
“I had also realizations before that I wanted to undergo an operation due to the severity of my condition at the lower back. I’m afraid of complications,” Rey explained.
Rey discovered physiotherapy and chiropractic procedures that lasted for three weeks.
What is physiotherapy?
Many experts are doing this science to help those people experiencing a physical malfunction, posterity, and mobility. For Patrick Morales, a registered physiotherapist, “Physiotherapy is a degree-based, science-based profession and takes a ‘whole person’ approach to health and well-being, which includes the patient’s general lifestyle.”
This kind of therapy helps people affected by any injury, illness, or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education, and advice.
“They maintain health for people of all ages, helping patients to manage pain and prevent disease. The profession helps to encourage development and facilitate recovery, enabling people to stay in work while helping them remain independent for as long as possible,” Morales explained.
He also explained there’s no difference between physical therapy which many people know and physiotherapy.
“Physical therapy mainly used in the US, Canada, and even in the Philippines,” he explained. While Physiotherapy is used mainly in Australia, the Middle East, and European countries, so these terms can be used synonymously,” he added.
Physiotherapy has many types. It can be manual therapy, mobilization technique, therapeutic exercises, electrotherapy, aquatic therapy, Vestibular Rehabilitation, and neuroplasticity training.
Not your usual massage
People have the usual mindset that a simple massage can ease body pains.
“Yes, you can feel relieved from this considering you know what your massage therapist is doing. You also understand the anatomy of your own body,” Morales explained.
“Physiotherapy has a massage which is just one of the manual therapy tools for releasing body tension. But massage can just be used as an adjunct in so many other physiotherapy treatments,” he further explained.
Some of the ailments that physiotherapy addresses include:
* Neurological (stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, autism)
* Neuromusculoskeletal (back pain, whiplash associated disorder, sports injuries, arthritis)
* Cardiovascular (rehabilitation after a heart attack, chronic heart disease)
* Respiratory (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis).
Physiotherapy has a process
“Physiotherapy helps to correct posture. It also offers exercise to condition the body and prevents us to have problems in posture condition,” Rey explained.
Rey believes that undergoing physiotherapy is very important.
Physiotherapist directly intervenes and assists people during the rehabilitative phase either post-operative or musculoskeletal problem.
Postures, long-time sitting, stress from work, even overweight could be possible factors for having back pains.
“Overall health and wellness are very important. We need to be fit for us to work and to provide something for our families living in the Philippines. If you feel some unusual pain, don’t hesitate to seek for medical attention and advice. It may be a simple back pain now, but it may cause your disability in the future if left treated,” Patrick advised.
So when you feel that your body is aching, seek help from any physiotherapist soon. It’s far beyond the usual massage therapy that we know.
