THE SPECIALITY
Sometimes in life after an accident injuring the spinal cord, a brain tumor, a sports injury or a stroke, we get sent back to "Go." And the things we’ve always taken for granted like breathing, walking, eating and taking care of ourselves become seemingly insurmountable tasks. Dealing effectively with these medical challenges involves the expertise of physiatrists..
Physiatrists are physicians who specialize in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and are trained to diagnose, treat, and direct a rehabilitation plan that provides the best possible outcomes for these patients. Physiatry not only employs the usual tools of medicine, but also uses physical agents and therapeutic exercise in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that produce pain, impairment and disability..
Nationwide there has been a rise in demand for rehabilitation services, brought on by an increasingly aging population and improved survival rates after disease and injuries due to advancing medical care and technology. Patients also seek treatment from physiatrists for musculoskeletal pain syndromes..
From the temporarily injured to the severely impaired, patients are increasingly turning to the diagnostic and treatment expertise of the physiatrist. The specialty is growing rapidly, and the number of resident physicians has doubled in the last decade. Despite this growth, physiatry is one of the few medical specialties in which there is a relative shortage.
We specialize in the Medical Diagnosis and Treatment
The specialty is growing rapidly, and the number of resident physicians has doubled in the last decade. Despite this growth, physiatry is one of the few medical specialties in which there is a relative shortage.
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- Back and Neck Pain
- Spinal Cord and Brain Injury
- Chronic Pain
- Amputee Rehabilitation
- Arthritis
- Cerebral Palsy
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Disabling Conditions
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Fibromyalgia
- Spinal Stenosis
- Parkinson's Disease
- Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Gait Abnormalities/Loss of Balance
- Falls
- Post joint replacement guidance
- Post fractures rehabilitation guidance
Physiatric Patient Care
Patients referred to a physiatrist for treatment can have a single disorder or multiple problems, many of which require a broad range of physiatric skills. Physiatrists treat patients of all ages for conditions ranging from the developmental disabilities of childhood to the acute injuries of adulthood and finally to the chronic diseases associated with aging.
Advances in medical care have increased the number of patients who now survive conditions that were once fatal. These patients are often challenged by physical impairments and emotional responses that require dramatic changes in everyday life and produce a need for both immediate treatment and long-term rehabilitation. For example, spinal cord injury was almost universally fatal before World War II, but now with proper care almost all survive and most have a normal life span.
Patients are referred to physiatrists by a wide variety of health care professionals including primary physicians, medical specialists in all fields, vocational counselors, social workers and insurance companies.
It is very important to have the direction of the physiatrist while the patient is undergoing in- patient rehabilitation at the acute or subacute in- patient rehabilitation centers to maximize the patient’s rehabilitation potential. The physiatrist is the team leader of the rehabilitation team, he or she will make sure the patients get the best possible outcome and works very closely with the other health care providers, making sure the patients get the right adaptive equipment and follow up care after their discharge from those facilities.
Usually the patients undergoing elective joint replacements, recovering from fractures, multiple trauma, strokes, amputations or any other neurological or debilitating conditions where they have lost their previous level of function need in- patient rehabilitation either in the acute or subacute setting.
The difference between acute and subacute care is the intensity of services and the level of care provided.
In the acute intensive rehabilitation program which is the rehabilitation hospital the patients receive minimum of three hours of therapy a day for five days or 15 hours per week and they are typically seen by a physician, usually a physiatrist, on a daily basis. In the subacute setting or a skilled rehabilitation center, the patients usually receive one to one-and-a-half hours of therapy per day – five or six days a week. Sometimes the intensity of services is mandated by the insurance carrier.
Patients needing acute or subacute care should request that a rehabilitation physician oversee their care.