Physiatrists, or Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians, specialize in helping patients recover from injuries or conditions that affect the brain, spine, nerves, bones, joints, and muscles. Whether it's a concussion, a sports injury, or chronic pain, they work with you to restore function and get you back to feeling your best.
Here’s what PM&R physicians do:
- Treat people of all ages
- Focus on improving your function and quality of life
- Use their broad medical expertise to care for you at any stage of life
- Help diagnose and manage pain from injuries, illnesses, or conditions
- Develop and guide personalized treatment and prevention plans
- Led by a team of medical professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physician assistants, to optimize your care
- Collaborate with other doctors, such as primary care physicians, neurologists, and orthopedic surgeons
- Treat you as a whole person, not just focusing on one specific problem area
Depending on your condition, PM&R physicians may offer a variety of services and treatments, such as:
- Ultrasound guided procedures
- Diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound
- Fluoroscopy guided procedures
- Injections of spine
- Blocks and Ablation procedures—Peripheral and Spine
- Injections of joints
- Prolotherapy
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
- Manual Medicine/Osteopathic Treatment
- EMG/Nerve Conduction Studies
- Nerve Stimulators
- Prosthetics and Orthotics
- Spasticity Treatment (Phenol and Botulinum toxin injections, intrathecal baclofen pump trial and implants)
- Dry Needling
PM&R physicians can also have expertise in areas like Sports Medicine, Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine, Pain Management, Traumatic Brain Injury (especially sports-related concussions), Pediatrics, Neuromuscular conditions, Spinal Cord Injuries, Amputee care, and Oncology rehabilitation.
