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Rehabilitation Physicians May Treat: |
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Amputations/Prosthetics
Arthritis
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Back Pain
Brain Injuries
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Geriatric Rehabilitation
Neck Pain
Nerve Pain
Radiculopathy
Ulnar Neuropathy (Wrist Pain in Bicyclists)
Osteoporosis
Pediatric Rehabilitation
Post-Polio Syndrome
Spinal Cord Injuries
Sports-Related Injuries
Stroke
Women’s Conditions
Work-Related Injuries |
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Who is a Physiatrist?
Physiatrists, or rehabilitation physicians, are medical doctors who are:
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Experts at diagnosing and treating pain
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Restore maximum function lost through injury,
illness or disabling conditions
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Treat the whole person, not just the problem area
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Lead a team of medical professionals
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Provide non-surgical treatments
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Explain your medical problems and treatment plan
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Work not only on treatment but also prevention
Rehabilitation physicians are nerve, muscle, and bone experts who treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move. Rehabilitation physicians have completed training in the medical specialty physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R).
Rehabilitation physicians treat a wide range of problems from sore shoulders to spinal cord injuries. Their goal is to decrease pain and enhance performance without surgery. Rehabilitation physicians take the time needed to accurately pinpoint the source of an ailment. They then design a treatment plan that can be carried out by the patients themselves or with the help of the rehabilitation physician’s medical team. This medical team might include other physicians and health professionals, such as physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist and massage therapist. By providing an appropriate treatment plan, rehabilitation physicians help patients stay as active as possible at any age. Their broad medical expertise allows them to treat disabling conditions throughout a person’s lifetime.
How do rehabilitation physicians diagnose?
Rehabilitation physicians take the time needed to accurately pinpoint the source of an ailment. Their specific diagnostic tools are the same as those used by other physicians (medical histories, physical examinations, and imaging studies), with the addition of special techniques in electrodiagnostic medicine like electromyography (EMG), and nerve conduction studies. These techniques help the rehabilitation physician to diagnose conditions that cause pain, weakness, and numbness.
What is the rehabilitation physician’s role in treatment?
Once they have a diagnosis, rehabilitation physicians design a treatment plan that can be carried out by the patients themselves or with the help of the rehabilitation physician’s medical team. This interdisciplinary medical team may include medical professionals such as neurologists, psychiatrists, orthopedic surgeons, and urologists, and non-physician health professionals such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, massage therapists, and psychologists. The team is different for each patient, and the team's composition changes during treatment to match the patient's shifting needs. By providing an appropriate treatment plan, rehabilitation physicians help patients stay as active as possible at any age. Their broad medical expertise allows them to treat disabling conditions throughout a person’s lifetime.
What is the scope of the rehabilitation physician’s practice?
PM&R is often called the quality of life profession because its aim is to enhance patient performance. The job of a rehabilitation physician is to treat any disability resulting from disease or injury involving any organ system. The focus is not on one part of the body, but instead on the development of a comprehensive program for putting the pieces of a person's life back together – medically, socially, emotionally, and vocationally – after injury or disease. The problems that rehabilitation physicians manage span the entire spectrum, from the most complicated multiple trauma to injury prevention for athletes. Some rehabilitation physicians have broad-based practices that encompass many different types of patients. Others pursue special interests and focus on specific groups or problems.
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