Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT) is a dedicated sports physiotherapist committed to enhancing the physical well-being and performance of athletes. With a Bachelor's degree in Physiotherapy from Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Physiotherapy, New Delhi, India, and currently pursuing a Master's in Sports and Exercise Medicine from the University of Central Lancashire, she specializes in tailoring rehabilitation programs to address specific needs and injuries of athletes, employing a holistic approach that combines manual therapies, targeted exercises, and cutting-edge rehabilitation techniques. She also has certification in Antenatal and Postnatal Exercise. Her commitment extends beyond treating symptoms; she strives to understand the underlying mechanisms of injuries to develop the most effective interventions.
Priya Bairagi: How did you get this idea of content creation? And what motivated you to do this?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): I love cameras. Means making videos and I like it a lot. During COVID-19, sitting at home doing nothing was boring. Also, I lost 75 kgs when I was in my first year of college, I was 75 kgs but when I was in my second year, I lost 23, 25 kgs weight. So, my weight was 53, 54 at that time. So, I had that body positivity so I motivated people for that too. That it is not impossible. I was content at that time so it was alright. When I was in my third year, I had good enough knowledge about physiotherapy so I was doing that. And at that time there weren’t many creators on Instagram. But I like making reels. I thought rather than dancing or singing meaninglessly, let us do something good on Instagram. I started from there and 3 years have been completed doing that slowly. Then along with time my internship was also completed, my course was completed, and I had done 5-6 things more so it will happen along with time. So, I am continuing.
Priya Bairagi: Ma’am I have seen your profile in which you have done a dietician course, a diploma course from IGNOU. How did you come up with this idea?
Dr Nirupama Bhatt (PT): In nutrition as I said I lost weight; I had learned a lot at that time. That was my learning journey and not just my fitness journey. And it was not like that that I was dying or I gained weight again. This means that I was on the right track. And I did these things after much reading. So, I already had nutrition knowledge. But a certification program will add on to you well. So that is why I earned a Diploma in nutrition health education.
Priya Bairagi: Some latest trends and technologies keep coming in the medical field. So how do you keep yourself updated on these things?
Dr Nirupama Bhatt (PT): When I visit new clinics, I keep myself already updated from which I know what new techniques they are using. Robotics and things like that. Moreover, I read online research papers, and news articles so we get to know from that. When you use it yourself, it is very much impactful. Until you work like that in a clinical or a hospital setting, then only you will know. I have been practicing since my second year so I have been seeing all these things from the start. In India, we do not see such things so soon. But bi hope we see such innovations in India also ahead.
Priya: What do you consider the most rewarding aspect of working as a physiotherapist?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): When a patient comes in pain and for half an hour you use all your techniques and a patient is saying there is no pain now. And after 7 days they called and said that after that I didn’t need to take medicine only. And that is the best that you treat a patient without medicines. You have that capability that yes whatever you have studied you know how to apply it practically and the patient’s pain is reduced. That is very satisfying.
Snayini: I have a question regarding menstrual disorder. You have done a course related to menstrual disorders if I am not wrong. What would your suggestion be to young females and middle-aged ones to maintain a healthy lifestyle so that they can prevent menstrual disorders?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): Yes. Exactly. That is the way to prevent menstrual disorders. Here, 95% of women are having dysmenorrhea and it’s a new normal for people. But it is not like that. I am in that 5% of people who have no pain during their periods. I don’t experience pain at all. I work on normal days. Yes, flow is there and discomfort due to that is there. But these cramps and pain, all these things are there because we are not to be blamed for that much. Because normally, the food that we eat is filled with pesticides and chemicals. Even if you eat homemade food, it is not as nutritious as it was in earlier times. So, this is the thing. But still, if you stop eating momos or noodles, it will help. You will see a little bit of difference. At least something good is going on inside your body. If we are not getting 100% purity but 70%, we are getting, then why do you want to spoil it 90% with your own hands? Some fruits help in reducing inflammation. If vitamin C is good in your body, and your vitamin C intake is good, then it reduces pain and cramping. Along with that if you are involved in regular activities, rather than going for vigorous activities, it helps in relieving your pain symptoms. And your pain is reduced from there. So, if you eat proper food your nutrition intake is proper and you do exercises properly, then many of your problems will be reduced. In menstrual disorders, we have talked about this the whole time: eat good nutritious food, eat food which is not oily. Too much oil reduces vitamin C in your body. That is why it’s scientifically proven and it is said that you should not eat that. If Vitamin C is good, then it flushes out inflammation in your body. So that you will feel when you have cramps or back pain, it will subside from there. And a hot bag will help because it improves your muscle circulation. If you do exercises, then also muscle pump and circulation happens. If you do not want to exercise during that time, then you can use hot bags also. But if you are doing exercise for 24, 25 days and don’t do exercise in those 5 days, then also you won't have any pain. I am blessed enough, touchwood, that I can do exercises during that time and I do not face any problems. So, I am saved.
Snayini: Thank you for the answer. The next question would be that you suggested taking vitamins, right? There are various companies like Amway Nutrilite, that provide artificial sources for vitamin supplements. Is it a healthy decision to take a supplement dose that way?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): Vitamin C is water soluble. So water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored in your body. If you are taking it in so much amount, it eventually goes out from your urine. So, there is no use in taking supplements. Why do you want to take supplements? Vitamins A, D, E, and K, are the vitamins that are fat-insoluble. Other than that, all the vitamins are water soluble. They come out of the body. They are not stored. So, you have to take it regularly. So better than this, eat oranges and gooseberries and tomatoes and stuff like that if we eat, it has vitamin C. Then why do you want to take supplements? It is like food already has so many chemicals and additionally, we are eating supplements filled with chemicals. Why do you want to take so many chemicals? It is not needed.
Snayini: I wanted to ask about these. There are a lot of content creators right now on Instagram who post content related to gym yoga and exercises. How do we choose whether a routine would be good for us? So how to choose content to maintain an exercise routine regularly?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): Nothing like that. Don’t listen to them who are doing this work. Because it's their profession. If you think about how to become beautiful like Deepika Padukone all the time. She is earning from that thing. How will you be like that? If someone pays you money then you will also go to the Parlor and do all the treatments. So just like those weightlifters. It is their profession. They take proteins and spend money separately. It is their life. They want to show off their bodies. And this is the way how they earn money. You need to focus on your way of making money. Along with that, give a little bit of time to your body. You have to do nothing like that. As I said, 30 minutes’ walk. According to WHO guidelines, 30-45 minutes of walking is more than sufficient. But if along with that, you practice some Yoga asanas and Surya namaskar then that is more than enough. This means if you do exercise now, then you will feel that yes, your body feels relaxed. Only that thing you have to do. It is not that you have to maintain good good-looking physique and abs and all. This shouldn’t be there. Our main motive is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle is that only if you have done balanced exercise for your calorie’s intake is done, you have eaten good food so intake is also done. That’s it. This only should be there in the normal general population. So, make it like that so that your brain doesn’t feel pressured and it should relax. So, 30-45 max to max minutes, you have to take out in a day and in that do some actions. While working, we do some actions daily, but some actions are there that we don’t do at all daily. So, you should focus on those activities and everything will be alright.
Snayini Das: Have you worked with anyone who has faced trauma due to any accidents or something?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): See, trauma is common. Recently, a 23-year-old female of my age had such issues. So, at such a young age, the body becomes very lean because the brain has impacted them. Along with that, if your muscles become weak then you can't even walk and you will be there in a wheelchair. So, at this age, if it had happened to me, then I too would be traumatized. But if you encourage them continuously, then it helps a lot. So, that is the only thing I have seen in her. We can try, but her struggles can't be shared with us. Whatever she is feeling, we can only tell her that it's okay, then it will make her feel good for a short time. But in the end, acceptance is the only way. If she accepts herself the way she is. Then this is only there.
Snayini Das: What exactly motivated you to sports medicine? I mean was there any specific sports person or someone whom you aspire to work with ever?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): I don’t know I like to work with athletes a lot. When you work with athletes, you have to be very quick. Because they know that there is a game after 2 months they have to be fine anyhow. So, you are working slowly without any aim in your life. You have an aim. If you have a challenge, that keeps you going. I believe that. I like challenges. Sports medicine is the thing which involves the same thing. And, it’s just a picnic for me. So, in a few days, you will see that I am going to do some great things in my life hopefully. So, I am planning to do a masters in the same. So, I am working on it. So, this thing is there for me that challenge pushes you to get up from your bed daily.
Dr. Darshit Patel: One last question before we part ways. Vegetarian or non-vegetarian, which is better? Even though I am vegetarian. So, do we need any other extra things to survive or are we good?
Dr. Nirupama Bhatt (PT): I am a vegetarian and no, we are good. Vitamin B12 is very low in a vegetarian diet. If you do blood reports anywhere, you will have vitamin B12 deficiency. It helps in neural nutrition, and nutrition for your nerves, which is why nowadays we all are having lower back pain and mechanical pain, because of nerve weaknesses. So, Vitamin B12 plays a great role. If you have vitamin B12 in your body with a sufficient amount, you will be able to cope with all these conditions, so yes for that we need supplementations. I don’t take any. Because nothing like that has happened till now. But you should take it. Vitamin D was also low in me because it is like we don’t sit much in the sun so nutrition is not much. Vegetarian lifestyle has no problem, is it there? I eat curd. Nutrition is more in fermented food so I follow that. But Vitamin D sashes also you can take to maintain it. But Vitamin B12 will be less and there is nothing you can do. But other things like protein to build body people do if you strictly follow a vegetarian diet and do not look for taste. Take a lot of dals filled and eat sprouts then your protein will be alright. Otherwise, you will be protein deficient. And we can't do anything about it. But again, we are human beings, how will we calculate so much in life? I did so many calculations during my fitness journey. I became fit and after that, I stopped calculating and just lived life, with no problems. So, my muscles are alright, I am not facing any issues. But when I feel like it, I will do something about proteins and increase eating sprouts.