What is Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation?

What is Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation?
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, as defined by Dr. Joel Delisa in ''Rehabilitation Medicine, Principles and Practice'', 3rd Ed. 1998: ''Rehabilitation is the process of helping a person to reach the fullest physical, psychological, social, vocational, avocational, and educational potential consistent with his or her physiologic or anatomic impairment, environmental limitations, and desires and life plans.''

PM&R physicians are sometimes referred to as 'physiatrists', which is pronounced ''fizz ee at' trists.'' The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) is the national medical society representing more than 6,400 physicians who are specialists in the field of PM&R.

To become a PM&R physician, individuals must successfully complete four years of graduate medical education (M.D.) and four additional years of postdoctoral residency training. Residency training includes one internship year spent developing fundamental clinical skills and three additional years of training in the full scope of the specialty.

There are 80 accredited residency programs in physical medicine and rehabilitation in the United States. Many PM&R physicians complete fellowship training in a specific area of the specialty. Fellowships are available for specialized study in such areas as sports medicine, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, pediatrics, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury.

To become board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, PM&R physicians are required to pass both a written and oral examination administered by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPM&R).

PM&R physicians treat acute and chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders. PM&R physicians focus on restoring function. They may see a person who lifts a heavy object at work and experiences back pain, a basketball player who sprains an ankle and needs rehabilitation to play again, or a knitter who has carpal tunnel syndrome. PM&R physicians' patients include people with arthritis, tendonitis, any kind of back pain, and work- or sports-related injuries.

PM&R physicians also treat serious disorders of the musculoskeletal system that result in severe functional limitations. They would treat a baby with a birth defect, someone in a bad car accident, or an elderly person with a broken hip. Physiatrists coordinate the long-term rehabilitation process for patients with spinal cord injuries, cancer, stroke or other neurological disorders, brain injuries, amputations, and multiple sclerosis.

They care for patients with acute and chronic pain, and musculoskeletal problems like back and neck pain, tendonitis, pinched nerves and myofascial pain. They also treat people who have experienced catastrophic events resulting in paraplegia, quadriplegia, or traumatic brain injury; and individuals who have had strokes, orthopedic injuries, or neuromuscular disorders such as Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, multiple sclerosis, polio, or ALS.

Link(s):
Arthritis Foundation

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