It is alway important to rise back when you fall down. An athlete needs a support system to stay on top of the game, injuries are the major reasons for their downfall. Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation helps them to get back in shape for the game. Dr. Richa had always wanted to go into the medical field and her love for sports turned out to be a perfect match. She runs the Kinesis- Sports rehab and physiotherapy clinc at Pune.
In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Dr. Richa Kularni speaks about her passion for sports since childhood, the importance of rehabilitation, being mentally fit and her experience with the Timor-Leste national soccer team.
Q 1) How did your fitness journey begin? What inspired you to pursue a career in sports rehabilitation and physiotherapy?
My fitness journey started at the age of 7 years. We had a strong family background of sports wherein my father was a cricketer and mother was into athletics, so they knew the importance of having sports in an individual’s life. They made sure that we 3 siblings enjoy the liveliness and enthusiasm a sport gives in one's life right from our childhood. Uptill now I have played almost all the games but in the end, Badminton is my game and passion which has kept me fit to date.
I always aspired to go into the medical field but also wanted some association of sports in it. I started doing research on how I could fuse my two passions into my profession and that's when I got to know about the field of Physiotherapy which had the perfect combination of sports and medicine.
Q 2) According to you, how can sports rehabilitation be made accessible to athletes across all levels of sports, i.e from the grassroots to professionals?
Nowadays, Sports Rehabilitation is a Subject which is talked about quite frequently between the athletes and their parents. Awareness of Sports Rehabilitation is quite grown as now athletes know the importance of it. There are certified Sports Physiotherapists who run private clinics or there are Rehab centers where an athlete can undergo rehabilitation post injury. Also many clubs and sports associations have their own Sports Physiotherapists in house for the athletes. Whereas in tournaments on field and off field Sports Physiotherapy is always made available to the athletes.
Q 3) How much of a role does sports physiotherapy play in increasing the longevity of an athlete’s career?
Sports Physiotherapy plays a vital role in increasing the longevity of an athlete’s career. A Physiotherapist helps an athlete to prevent and manage injuries on field. As well as a physio helps an athlete on safe participation of his/her sport on field which enhances their performance in the game. Sports Rehabilitation helps and supports faster recovery of the injuries which happened as well as through guided rehab protocols one can prevent major injuries on the field which helps in top notch performance in the respective sports.
Q 4) How was the experience of being the sports physiotherapist for the National Soccer Team of U-23 and Senior Men's team of Timor-Leste at FIFA World-Cup pre-qualifiers in Malaysia 2019 and AFC Championship at Myanmar 2019?
It was phenomenal, superb, mind blowing. It was a dream come true moment. As I said earlier, I did physiotherapy for being associated with sports and medicine. This was the prestigious moment which I was waiting for years in my career. It had a huge responsibility of handling and managing the entire team. There were moments wherein there was so much pressure to handle and treat the injured players and make them play on field. But all the efforts were rewarded at the end when my injured players performed their best on the field with the immediate recovery and preventive measures instructed and followed as told.
Q 5) What can be done to raise awareness about the importance of sports rehabilitation amongst athletes?
To increase the awareness of Sports rehabilitation amongst athletes, first of all educating them about this concept is of utmost importance. Following we can take camps for the athletes where they can understand how to prevent an injury as well as how to take care of it through a guided rehab. Also we can promote and endorse sports rehab on social platforms to increase the awareness through educational videos where we can show how recovery is done post injuries in a rehab.
Q 6) While physiotherapy is mostly dealing with the body, how important is mental fitness according to you? What can be done to ensure an athlete or an individual remains both mentally and physically healthy?
A sport is a combination of the physical and mental well being of an individual, so I think mental fitness is equally important as being physically fit. You need to be mentally sound enough when you play any sport so you give your 100% in your performance by being completely focused. For example, while playing Badminton you need to be physically fit but at the same time you are nervous and have high anxiety levels then it becomes difficult to give your 100%. These conditions will lead to losing matches which may lead to depression and irritation ultimately leading to poor performance. So along with Sports Rehab and Physiotherapy, Sports Psychology also plays a major role in an athlete’s sports career.
