Pieter Faasse Art of Physio

Pieter Faasse Art of Physio – an interview. One of the best pieces of advice I have heard for living in the Netherlands is : “Always use both hands to hold on when going up or down steep Dutch stairs.” I was at a party one time and it was going great until a lady came rolling down the stairs and had to go to hospital. She had not been drinking, she just lost her footing. She was in a world of pain and for a long time after the party too. Then she used a physio and eventually got back to normal.

Accidents Happen

I have heard about people confidently cycling along but not really paying attention and their front wheel got stuck in a tram line. In one second their evening was transformed into trauma involving a hospital visit. Cycling has it dangers too when drunk or using a phone. Sports related injuries are a daily occurrence too, especially for high contact sports like rugby. It’s so easy to strain muscles and the impact it can have on your daily routine can be terrible.

The passage away from aches and pains will take the time it takes with professional help. Art of Physio has an excellent reputation in this field. We have known its founder, Pieter Faasse for some time. He has his practice in Zuidas and has a second location in Amsterdam’s city centre.

The Expert View

We asked Pieter to tell us more about his activity and he took time out of his schedule to answer our questions.

1. Tell us about your services.

Art of Physio is all about personal and effective healthcare. Our main goal is to help busy executives and entrepreneurs work, train and live pain free. The way we work is quite unique in the Netherlands. The techniques we use are from the US and only a few therapists in this country work with it.

These techniques (ART and FRC) are well known and used for their effectiveness with injuries to muscle, joint or nerves. Both ART and FRC are about getting your joints and muscles moving smoothly and pain free. ART is a hands-on treatment technique to treat mobility issues by hand while FRC is designed to train that newly acquired range of motion. That combination works seamlessly together. It is not uncommon to have significant improvement within the first couple of sessions.

Nice fact: Tim Ferriss also recommends ART in his book ‘the 4 hour workweek’.

2. What makes you different from other physiotherapists?

It always surprises me that many therapists just assess and treat the painful spot instead of looking for the underlying cause…

The spot where you feel the pain, is not where the pain is coming from, but the end result of compensation over time. To get to the root cause of your problem, you have to take time to listen and thoroughly assess the client. That’s what we do at Art of Physio. We listen, assess and find the underlying cause of your problem. When you found it, treatment is the easy part.

After we have solved the underlying problem, we will provide you with the tools you need to keep your body pain free.

3. What is the thing you like most about your work?

What I really love to do is solve complex problems. Every client and problem is unique and has a different goal, a different background, different needs and wishes. Finding out what is going on and what you can do to help solve it, creates a real kick.

4. Which problems do you encounter the most with your non Dutch clients?

My practices are located in a gym, so I get the typical sports injuries. At my Zuidas practice, I see a lot of people with neck and shoulder pain due to the long and stressful hours behind a computer.

I also work with the European School of Ballet where I treat an array of ballet specific injuries for their international group of students.

5. I once heard a doctor say that the best injury prevention advice was to hold on with both hands when going down Dutch stairs. What advice you you give out the most as a physio?

My number one advice is: move every joint every day!

We all know the saying, motion is lotion, and it’s true!

The opposite is also true. If you don’t move, everything becomes stiff and tight. Over time, that can lead to compensation, overuse and pain. Especially now when people sit for 10 ish hours a day, movement is essential in keeping your body fit, healthy and pain free!

6. Which services do you offer besides ‘regular’ physiotherapy sessions?

When regular physiotherapy is not enough for you, I offer a tailor made 100-day package. It kicks off with an intensive 4-day program, where we will assess what you need to get your body to move smoothly and pain free again. This involves treatment, training and coaching. The rest of the 100 days will be about implementing everything in your daily life.

I also have other package deals available. we have periodical checkups to prevent injuries from developing over time while releasing stress, improving quality of life and overall performance.