KineCare Health Center

Posted by Greg

May 17, 2008

Big Chilli Magazine, May 2008

I’ve always been a fan of science and what it’s done for us - everything from calculus to space exploration to funny animal videos on YouTube. It’s especially true if I’m feeling ill; if I need healthcare, I’m 100% behind modern medicine and the fantastic drugs it’s brought us. I recognize that some people get results with alternative medicine, but I’ve always seen it as a bit far-fetched. That is, I did, until I blew out a knee last year - bad enough that I thought I’d need surgery. The chiropractor I visited told me he was going to try something different, and zapped my knee with a type of phaser/light particle machine thing. I tried not to laugh at first, but a few days later, although not 100% cured, I was back to taking stairs two at a time. Color me convinced.

It is, in part, this type of medicine that a new clinic on Silom is focusing on. Manob Song-Im, the managing director of Kinecare, sat down with me to discuss his clinic, why he opened it, and what it offers.

“Kine comes from kinesiology, the study of muscles,” says the gracious and soft-spoken Song-Im. “We started this clinic because my brother-in-law is a doctor, and have both seen tremendous results with this type of care. I suffer from a lot of pain myself, and experienced great success with holistic medicine, after I had tried all types of modern remedies with no effect.” Holistic, from the Greek word holos, states that the parts of any whole cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole, which is the very basis of what Kinecare offers.

The clinic, fully licensed by the Ministry of Health, employs 5 doctors and 8 therapists, all of whom have been trained in the delicate art of adjusting, balancing, treating and realigning each part of your body in relation to all the other parts of your body. “Our team is talented but young, which I prefer,” explains Song-im. “Many older therapists are stuck in their ways and stop learning after a while, but the younger generation is more open to new ideas and methodologies.”

The doctors and therapists at Kinecare’s subdued, relaxing offices use drug-free techniques and American-made rehabilitation equipment to relieve pain, restore movement and prevent recurrence. Essentially, they combine conventional treatments, such as joint mobilization, electrotherapy, massage and exercise, with complementary medicine and nutrition to create a medical plan tailored for you and your unique lifestyle.

“Many people think that you need to injure yourself before getting this type of treatment, which isn’t true,” says Song-im. “It does work to heal injuries, of course, but also acts as an injury deterrent for people like golfers and office workers who are prone to repetitive-stress injuries.”

To test things out, I agreed to let myself be a guinea pig for the Kinecare system. The knee injury I had last year still acts up from time to time, so my first meeting was with Dr. Ayut Thammawijaya, who asked me some pointed questions about my level of physical activity, daily routine, past injuries that like. He pressed and prodded my knees, listening intently while I described the kind of pain I have, and then discussed my issues with senior physiotherapist Sutavee Saipiruntong. She then took me into a second room where she subjected my knee to a blast of ultrasound therapy, a treatment which causes deep heating in below-surface tissue, and has been shown to increase tissue relaxation, blood flow and reduce swelling. Then came 10 minutes of heat treatment with an 80°C silica heat pack, during which I happily nodded off to sleep.

Despite the soft background music, muted color tones and quiet shuffling of Crocs shoes (which everyone in the office wears), Song-im is hesitant to call Kinecare a spa. “Spas specialize in pampering people, which is a small part of what we do, of course; you must feel comfortable. Most spas simply make you feel nice for a while, offering only a temporary fix, but we strive to educate people about why they have a particular pain; what causes it and how to treat it.”

With that in mind, I next met with Kinecare’s resident nutritionist, an absolute giant of a man named Christoph Klueppel. Standing near - if not, over - 7 feet tall and without an ounce of fat on him, the tri-lingual Klueppel (German, English, Thai) holds a Master of Fitness Sciences diploma and has been the recipient of a number of awards from numerous global fitness organizations. He sat down with me and discussed my daily diet, giving me the cold, hard truth about what I ate (surprise - plain cornflakes aren’t health food) and tips on how to adjust my diet and lose my spare tire - which, not surprisingly, is the biggest single strain on my knee (which, by this time, was feeling warm and refreshed). It’s hard to disregard nutrition advice from a guy who could have doubled for Schwarzenegger in his prime.

“I think the number of people who accept holistic treatment is growing,” says Song-im as he walks me out, past Kinecare’s exercise/meditation studio and assorted exercise balls and resistance training equipment. “People are much more open to alternative methods such as herbs, acupuncture and meditation than they were in the past.”

If Kinecare’s growing roster of clients and top-tier staff are any indication, the clinic can look forward to many long years of helping people get back on their feet.

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