The World Physical Therapy Day on September 25 passed without much physical activity or therapeutic feeling in Pakistan. A mass scale activity marking the day would have been a good opportunity for therapists to raise awareness among the public about the importance of being active, being well, being mobile and, of course, being independent. A few seminars held here and there, however, shed light on the importance of therapists, physical therapy and physical activity. Seminars are again a stationary activity, though listening to speaker after speaker requires lots of attention and patience. At a seminar at the Jinnah Sindh Medical University in Karachi speakers highlighted frequent back and joint pain which could stem from lots of desk job resulting in complicated bone disease and other allied health problems. Such pains are preventable if people have regular walks with light exercise and are conscious about weight gain. Speakers suggested simple tips to be more productive in offices like taking a break after every 40 minutes at desk jobs, having comfortable chairs to maintain good posture and taking healthy food.
As health is never on our active memory and priority list, according to therapists, the number of people suffering from back and joint pains is going up and the bad news is that the sufferers belong to every age group. If early symptoms are not taken care of, recurring back pain can snatch a patient’s independence. This year’s World Therapists’ Day theme was chronic pain and the effectiveness of physical therapy in its treatment and reduction. Every pain is not chronic. Therapists describe chronic pain as one that last longer than their expected healing time following an injury. This may continue for months or even years and mostly such conditions occur in low back, neck, upper back, head, shoulder, knee and hip joints.
Therapy can cure acute and chronic pain without damaging the vital organs as painkillers do. Painkillers can be good to get instant relief, but in the long run, their constant usage can damage the body. Physical therapy is the best bet to ward off lingering pain, but having a balanced lifestyle and balanced diet surpasses all options. The bad thing is that our cities have lost walking spaces to shopkeepers and encroachments. Take the examples of Lahore and Karachi, where one can hardly take a 10 minute walk without an event. Similarly, there are not sufficient parks and jogging tracks in residential areas.
We will have to take the beaten path to beat acute and chronic pain.
