My name is Claudio Sagita and I am a 2nd year undergraduate student at the University of Melbourne majoring in physiology. Since I am planning to become a physiotherapist in the future, I decided to do an internship at Physioactive Jakarta while I was on my uni break last February. My main expectations out of this internship were to get a general idea of the working environment in one of the few best physiotherapy clinic in Jakarta and learn more about the different techniques that physiotherapists use to treat their patients here. I am thrilled to say that what I have learned throughout my internship in a month had far exceeded my expectations, here’s why —
One thing that really amazed me is how committed Physioactive are in helping their patients to achieve their goals. Physioactive always try their best to satisfy their patients, from it’s friendly receptionists to the caring and quick-witted physiotherapists. They pay close attention to every bits of detail to ensure that the patients are happy and comfortable, such as providing patients with drinks, snacks and comfy clothes. However, the thing that makes Physioactive special from other clinics around Jakarta lies in the high competency and professionalism of their physiotherapists. All the physiotherapists in Physioactive (Andy, Timothy and Nicolas) had went through years of arduous education and working experience in other countries such as Australia, Netherlands and United States, in order to dedicate the best and most efficient methods of treatment to their patients. As a result, they are able to assess and determine the cause of the patients symptoms more accurately compared to other physio clinics around Jakarta, which in return allows them to provide a more efficient treatment and exercise plan to their patients.
Most of the patients in Physioactive Jakarta are expatriates who comes from various countries. Although there is a huge variety of injury cases, one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries that I saw there was a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). ACL is one of the four ligaments that helps stabilises the knee joint by preventing the tibia from sliding too far forward. An ACL torn is usually caused by a sudden twisting motion on the knee and the treatment typically requires a surgery to replace the torn ligament by taking one of the muscles or tendons in the hamstring. This might cause the muscles in the thigh and knee to become weak and unstable if not treated properly post-surgery, which will also result on the knee becoming more prone to injuries. In Physioactive, the therapists
can help to encourage development and facilitate the recovery process by strengthening these muscles. They have a methodical approach to the rehabilitation of this injury, such as gradually increasing the patients exercises based on their condition progress. They will also provide the patient with exercises to do at home and evaluate their process in the next visit or through a mobile app called PhysiApp, that helps patients to monitor their own progress and shows the exercises that they need to do at home in case they forget.
Although I could not be involved directly with the patients, I have learned a lot by observing and analysing how the therapists treat their patients here. From there, I was able to evaluate and compare the different techniques and treatment the therapists at Physioactive does compared to other clinics in Jakarta, such as their dependence on medical devices such as ultrasound and TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation). Although there are no right or wrong methods of treatment, as long as the patients symptoms is relieved, other clinics in Jakarta tend to rely heavily on these medical devices in treating their patients. Whereas Physioactive relies more on the manual therapy and exercises to the patients to make sure that there is a gradual progress in the strength and health of the patient. Based on my observation, the usage of these equipments tends to have more of placebo effects as there are only few scientific research evidences to prove that it actually helps in strengthening muscle tissue.
Such differences in skills and techniques is what I think differentiates Physioactive from other clinics around Jakarta.
In conclusion, my internship experience in Physioactive Jakarta was remarkable. In my opinion, Physioactive’s zeal in delivering excellent patient service, well-equipped facility and professional therapists are what sets them a level above every other physio clinics in Jakarta. Therefore, they are spot on when they say that your health is in expert hands. Personally, I was overwhelmed by all the love and support that the Physioactive team has given me throughout my internship, which has further inspired me to become a top-notch physiotherapist just like the ones in Physioactive. I would like to end my blog with a quote from Sir William Osler, one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital, that I think is greatly demonstrated by the Physioactive team, “The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease“.
