Dr Ping Ping | Dr Pattama Likitwittaya
Specialist physician in rehabilitation medicine
The miracle of rehabilitation medicine
Dr Pattama Likitwittaya, or Dr Ping Ping, a rehabilitation medicine physician, has shared a powerful point of view about the science of rehabilitation, which is like a "Miracle" that helps patients who have lost the ability to live their lives come back to stand firm once again. She sees rehabilitation medicine as an important team that wants to raise the quality of life and the abilities of patients to be as close to, or the same as, what they were before.
Creating hope for patients
Most people usually understand that treating pain has only the use of medicine, and do not yet clearly understand what rehabilitation medicine is. But in truth, the role of rehabilitation medicine is to help patients do what they once could do, but now cannot do, so that they can come back to doing it once again.
Dr Ping Ping also said that one of the things most people usually do not yet realise is the importance of physiotherapy, because in fact a patient doing physiotherapy is one part of making the patient have a better quality of life. Besides this, a doctor being able to help a patient come back to having hope of standing and walking again is something that has a great effect on that person, and that is another driving force that makes her have to try to bring patients back to living normally once again.
In caring for patients with diseases of the nervous system, such as Parkinson's (Parkinson), stroke (Stroke), rehabilitation is not only the treatment of physical symptoms, or "walking" alone, but must use a holistic concept:
- Explore the hidden problems: besides the physical symptoms, the team of doctors must explore the other problems that affect the quality of life, such as swallowing, sleep, continence, as well as the stress and the mental condition of the patient
- Training designed specifically for the individual: since treatment cannot use a ready-made formula of "1 2 3" with everyone, the doctor must therefore design a precise programme. For example, training a Parkinson's patient may use instruments, or techniques of training to a rhythm, such as walking to the rhythm of a song, in order to help the walking come back to being smooth and quicker
Dr Ping Ping underlines the importance of the nervous system, which has an enormous effect on life. If one day we have to be weak down one side, life will surely not be the same. But for patients and carers, don't give up hope (Don't Give up Hope). If you feel discouraged, realise that "there is still a team called rehabilitation medicine" that is ready to help develop the quality of life and the abilities so that they come back to being at their best. And she would like Thai people to begin taking care of themselves from today, because the most important thing is good health. It can be begun simply, such as with exercise and taking care of food. Although the result is not seen immediately, it is an investment that will certainly make life in the future better than doing nothing at all.