Size matters, but does gender matter? Find out in Talk with Physical Therapist EP.3

On the occasion of Pride Month, Mr. Big Clinic would like to invite friends to talk about the issue of size or body shape affecting product selection, does gender affect product selection? In the program 'Talk with Physical Therapist EP3: Let's Comfort Everyone, Sizes matter, Genders Don't' Let's listen to the interview together.

Please introduce yourself to the physical therapist.

• 'Khun Seng', founder of the mr.big brand and physical therapist at mr.big clinic.
• 'Khun Mac', physical therapist at Mr. Big Clinic

Topic 1: In the eyes of physical therapists, does size affect product selection?

Mr. Seng: Size is important. Actually, it may not be just physical therapists. I think many people already know that when we choose something, we have to choose something that fits the size of our body.

Mr. Mac: Of course, the size comes first. If you see the right size, it's okay. In the past, I've worked in clinics and have encountered many patients who received products that were not the right size for them. After using them, they would get injured.

Topic 2: Does size affect shopping choices? Does gender have an effect?

Mr. Seng: It is undeniable that gender also plays an important role in purchasing decisions. However, when Mr. Big designs, the focus is primarily on function, and that function does not really choose gender. Instead, the size, shape, and body shape are more important than gender. In some cases, when designing products, gender characteristics may be the main consideration. However, for Mr. Big, size is more important than gender.

Topic 3: I'd like you to try sharing a case study about choosing products that are not suitable for the size.

Mr. Mac: Let's try to give an example that is easy to observe, such as a petite woman who drives a big car, there will be quite a distance from the steering wheel, causing her to have to move closer to the steering wheel, which is a position that causes her shoulders to tense all the time, and also makes her vision poor. If it is a case study that happened at Mr. Big Clinic, Thonglor branch, there will be a case where some customers are quite large and weigh a lot, but like a soft mattress. But when calculating their weight and height, it is found that they are suitable for a different type of mattress. We have to gradually adjust our understanding that sometimes sleeping on a mattress that is too soft can have negative effects on them in the long run.

Mr. Seng: What I've seen is when parents buy extra sizes for their children, which can be quite strange.

For example, if we are talking about products, let’s start with mattresses. Most mattresses nowadays are made to be soft, and people who are big may have problems sleeping on them. So many customers have asked about toppers from Mr. Big because soft mattresses make it difficult for people who are big to move around in bed, and they don’t sleep in the correct alignment. Pillows also have problems. Pillows nowadays are made in large sizes because most people like them because they are fun to hug and are very soft and fluffy. However, this type of pillow is not suitable for people who are small in size because sleeping on a pillow that is too big or too high may cause neck pain.

Topic 4: So, do people with small sizes need to be especially careful about anything if they want to buy bedding products?

Mr. Seng: Well, we need to understand that being small does not mean being short. Being tall is okay, but the weight that presses down horizontally on each part is equally distributed. And it is not a BMI value because BMI is divided by weight and height. It does not know the distribution of weight.

There are two things that petite people should be careful about:

1. A mattress that is too hard will cause back pain.
2. A mattress that is not designed to support weight distribution or distribute force along the bony prominences, because the person is small, the muscles covering his bony prominences will be less, which may result in his sleep not being smooth throughout the night. He may have to turn over frequently.

Topic 5: What if you are a big size person?

Mr. Seng: Let me reiterate my understanding. A person with a large body shape might not mean a tall person. It might mean a person who is not very tall but has a lot of weight in one part of the body. And a person with a large body shape will have more curves than usual.

There are two things that plus-size people should be careful about:

1. Choose a mattress that is flexible enough to support your body shape.
2. Avoid using a mattress that is too soft because it will make you sleep in the wrong position. Another problem for big people is that if they sleep on a soft mattress and sink too much, it may make it difficult for them to move around in bed. And at night, it will be more difficult to move and turn over during the night, and sleeping will not be smooth either.

Topic 6: Why does Mr. Big care about size selection?

Mr. Seng: Because we know that using things that are not the right size can cause injuries. Before designing the product, I have thought about what factors will make a person lie in the correct alignment and not be in pain.

Those factors are size. But if you don't have pain while sleeping, and want to sleep more comfortably, and feel smooth throughout the night, there may be other factors involved, such as room temperature, softness, and fragrance. No matter what, Mr. Big's vision is that size is important. Even if all the other components are good, if you sleep in the wrong alignment, you will eventually wake up with pain anyway.

Topic 7: What does it take to become a Mr. Big product?

Mr. Seng: Before releasing a product from Mr. Big, we must first understand what the product is used for and whether there is a chance of injury if the product is not used correctly. Once we know this information, we will decode what factors cause pain and what will make it easier for him to choose the product that fits his body.

It's hard to see. It looks complicated, right? But this is the reason why Mr. Big releases products slowly (laughs).

Topic 8: On the occasion of Pride Month, I would like to know what kind of products are designed that can be used by people of all ages.

Mr. Mac: Normally, Mr. Big's products are designed for all ages. It is not limited to just men and women. However, there is one product that is designed to be used by all sizes of people, which is Rebacka, a back support pillow.

Mr. Seng: In addition, we also have the bestfit program to help choose which products are most suitable for your body shape or physique. In addition to Rebacka, we also have other products designed for a large group of people, such as shoe pillows and fat pillows that are huggable pillows, which do not have much effect. If we do not use them correctly, if we do not use them correctly according to our body shape, we may not get injured.

Topic 9: Share a trick to observe yourself. How can you know if a product doesn't match your body shape?

“It’s easy to notice from the pain.”

Khun Seng: The symptom that tells us is the pain. And we usually know when it becomes chronic. For example, how do we know if the pillow doesn't match the body? If we wake up in the morning with neck pain, it's probably not suitable. But most of the time, we tend to let the pain recur and don't think about fixing it until it becomes chronic pain and becomes a cycle.

For those who still have pain after changing their pillow, it may be due to previous injuries that were in the muscles and did not receive treatment.
If you want to break this cycle, you have to cure it and then change your products. Also, our bodies are very clever. If you choose products that are not suitable for your body, your body will try to adapt to the product. That is why you will realize that it has become chronic.

Mr. Mac: Simply put, our body's response is what tells us whether a product is suitable for us or not. Pain is one of our body's processes to tell us that something is wrong. The cause may be from things like using the wrong thing or from previous fatigue. Because sometimes pain has to build up over time before we can tell that this product or this pillow may not be suitable for us.

If you want to check which product is suitable for your body type, Mr. Big Clinic also has a service called Ergoprofile, which is a service to measure body proportions and then use the obtained values ​​to analyze the height of tables, chairs, or various equipment, whether in the office or at home.

Topic 10: Please advise me, if I want to learn about choosing items to match my body shape, who can I consult?

Mr.big is happy to provide advice. You can come and talk to us anytime, at any branch. If it's a pillow or mattress, we are very confident because we already have products that meet all your needs.