AAPM&R Medical Experts Directory Available to Media

• Christopher Reeve is paralyzed during an equestrian competition

• 13-year-old Chicagoan Lenard Clark begins the long recovery from injuries sustained after a racially motivated attack

• After breaking his neck at the Meadowlands and being paralyzed from the neck down, New York Jet Dennis Byrd walks unaided onto the same field less than a year later

• An active woman slips a disc and is told to give up her many sports activities and her plan for more children. Now she enjoys running, horseback riding, and her new baby.

• A stroke patient’s insurance company refuses to pay for her necessary rehabilitation

Where did you get your information when you covered these stories? Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians were involved in all of these situations and many others reported every day. The Medical Experts Directory was developed by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) for members of the media. AAPM&R is the national medical specialty organization representing over 80% of the PM&R physicians practicing in the United States. The Directory covers the wide variety of medical conditions treated by PM&R specialists such as:

• Spinal Cord Injury/Paralysis

• Sports Medicine

• Amputations/Prosthetics

• Back Pain

• Multiple Sclerosis

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Each topic category in the Directory includes background information on the topic, story ideas, and a list of AAPM&R member physicians recognized by a panel of peers as experts in that subject. The physicians listed have agreed to work directly with members of the media who need medical information for their stories.

To request your free copy of the AAPM&R Medical Experts Directory, or get assistance in developing a story, credentialed media representatives and freelancers should contact Joanne Constantine at the AAPM&R office: 9700 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 200, Rosemont, Illinois 60018; phone: (847) 737-6000; or e-mail: jconstantine@aapmr.org.