The Muscle Man: Physiotherapist Dr. Amir Neupane

The scene: a government hospital in Bangalore, our protagonist: growing increasingly restless over the patients refusing treatment from him, simply turning the opposite way as he and his friends make rounds for daily check ups. He was a medical student and the patients wanted only the best doctors to help them! This is when the timid 21-year-old Amir Neupane decided to take matters into his own hands. ‘I’m almost a doctor, too! They should accept treatment from me, too, I’m not just a student!’ he affirmed, as one fateful day he made the rounds donning the stethoscope and coat privy only to fully fledged doctors.

As fate would have it, an emergency patient comes through with a severe case of COPD and is admitted into the ICU. The emergency doctor: our very own ‘junior doctor’. Regardless, ethically divisive as it may be, he began treatment, consulting his seniors and using the knowledge he had learned in his three years, he treated this critical patient best he could. The patient makes a full recovery from the very clutches of death. The commotion, the buzz around the hospital: immense, ‘How did a mere medical student cure a critical patient?’.

As Neupane met the parents of the now fit boy, they fell to his feet thanking him for saving their son’s life. “That exact moment is when I decided to become a doctor and commit to serving this community,” says Dr. Amir Neupane. After completing his BPT in Bangalore, the Physiotherapist Neupane returned to Nepal to establish his own practice. “Despite being settled in India, earning a decent salary, living a comfortable life, being away from home seemed to awaken the patriot in me. Hence, I returned to my country to work here,” reminisces Neupane.

At the time, physiotherapy was a concept that evaded many in the nation, there was no prior practice of this specialised craft in the nation. Hence the initial apprehension towards the field was palpable. “An established doctor in India, I remained unemployed for more than 6 months after I returned”.

But he did find work, establishing his first physio practice in a two-bed, small cubicle room inside Nidaan Hospital. The popularity of which saw him soon take a huge leap to establishing his own clinic atop the Nokhang Complex in Jawalakhel. “‘A physiotherapy clinic, in Jawalakhel, at the top of a prominent building?’ People were puzzled at my choice of investment but thankfully it paid off,” says Neupane.

“Currently my clientele ranges from Nepalis to ambassadors to people travelling from Delhi, Chennai for treatment. The thing I take pride in is the fact that in our clinic there is no separation for foreigners or nationals who all pay the same fees and get the same priority.” adds Neupane.

“I take pride in the fact that we’ve kept the charges as minimal as possible in our physio clinic. Our chief concern is affordable treatment and rehabilitation. For those who tell me they can't pay, we also treat them for free at times; for me, the community comes first.”

Physiotherapy, more specifically musculoskeletal physiotherapy (the field Dr Neupane specialises in) is a rather niche profession and practice that requires its practitioners to learn a whole new branch of medicine. An appointment in the Aashas Health Care Clinic sees its patients divulge their medical history, their current habits and their workplace tendencies before zeroing in on the issue at hand. “Diagnosis is a detailed process. Before diagnosis of the problem, I make it a point that I understand my patient thoroughly. We have a sheet that we fill out together that goes from patients’ medical history, past habits, current tendencies, physical activities the patient does to exercises and physical procedures we can perform on sight to pinpoint the root of the problem.”

“Most Nepalese are office workers who see daylight when they leave for office and then again the next day, they’re closed in their office sitting down the entire day. Even children nowadays due to the nature of online classes usually maintain bad posture and strain their bodies sitting down in front of screens. These can lead to severe chronic muscle problems in the future. Through physiotherapy we remedy these pains and teach them a way of properly engaging the correct muscles and managing the hurt.”

From back aches to joint pains to posture related pains, almost every Nepali has encountered some sort of problem that could be easily dealt with. With the right treatment, Dr. Amir Neupane looks to solve these very problems at their roots before they develop into serious issues that damage bones and bodily systems.

 Through his clinic and a podcast he is to launch soon with Nepal News titled ‘Physiocast’, he wants to make these specialised fields of medicine along with normal healthcare more accessible to the people.