Definition
The Medical Student's Guide to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
A physiatrist, pronounced fizz ee at' trist, is a
physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R).
PM&R or physiatry is the branch of medicine emphasizing the prevention,
diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders, particularly those of
the neuromusculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and pulmonary systems, that may
produce temporary or permanent impairment. Physiatry is unique among medical
fields in that its area of expertise is the functioning of the whole patient,
as compared with a focus on an organ system or systems.
A physiatrist treats disorders such as:
- Back Pain
- Sports Injuries
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Chronic Pain
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Arthritis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
In addition to management used in general medical
practice, physiatrists use therapeutic exercise, heat, light, water,
electricity, bracing, prosthetic and adaptive devices to treat patients of all
ages. Physiatrists also attend specifically to physiologic adaptation to
disability and to preventing complications or deterioration secondary to
disabling conditions. The goal of the physiatrist is to provide medical care
to patients with pain, weakness, numbness, and loss of function so that they
can maximize their physical, psychological, social, and vocational potential.
As people survive
conditions that once would have been fatal, the field of physiatry is moving
to the forefront of medicine. The specialty serves all age groups and treats
problems that touch upon all the major systems of the body.
| |
