Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Allen C. Tafel, MD: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine
Christopher Dawson, MD: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine
Rehabilitation physicians are nerve, muscle, and bone experts who treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move. Rehabilitation physicians have completed training in the medical specialty physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R).
Rehabilitation physicians treat a wide range of problems from sore shoulders to spinal cord injuries. Their goal is to decrease pain and enhance performance without surgery. Rehabilitation physicians take the time needed to accurately pinpoint the source of an ailment. They then design a treatment plan that can be carried out by the patients themselves or with the help of the rehabilitation physician’s medical team. This medical team might include other physicians and health professionals, such as neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, and physical therapists. By providing an appropriate treatment plan, rehabilitation physicians help patients stay as active as possible at any age. Their broad medical expertise allows them to treat disabling conditions throughout a person’s lifetime.
What conditions do Physiatrists Treat?
- Amputations/Prosthetics
- Arthritis
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Back Pain
- Brain Injuries
- Neck Pain
- Nerve Pain
- Radiculopathy
- Ulnar Neuropathy (Wrist Pain in Bicyclists)
- Osteoporosis
- Post-Polio Syndrome
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Sports-Related Injuries
- Stroke
- Work-Related Injuries
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