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| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |
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Physical medicine and rehabilitation is a branch of medicine dealing with the functional restoration of a person affected by physical disability. A physician who has completed training in this field is called a physiatrist. Training for American physical medicine and rehabilitation requires four years of medical school, one year of internship and three years of residency. A physical medicine and rehabilitation fellowship of several more years may follow, in a subspecialty such pediatric medicine and rehabilitation. A physical medicine and rehabilitation md specializes in restoring optimal function to people with injuries to the muscles, bones, tissues, and nervous system.
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The term 'physiatry' was coined by Dr. Frank H. Krusen in 1938. The term was accepted by the American Medical Association in 1946. The field of American physical medicine and rehabilitation grew notably in response to the demand for sophisticated techniques needed for the large number of injured soldiers returning from World War II.
A physical medicine and rehabilitation program involves the management of disorders that alter the function and performance of the patient. At a physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic, a patient may utilize medications, physical modalities, therapeutic exercise, movement modification, adaptive equipments and assistive device, orthotics (braces), prosthesis, and experiential training approaches.
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Physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians may also perform electrodiagnostics which are used to provide nervous system functional information for diagnosis and prognosis for various neuromuscular disorders. The common electrodiagnostic tests performed during a physical medicine and rehabilitation program are nerve conduction velocity studies and needle electromyographes. Common conditions that are treated by physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians include amputation, spinal cord injury, stroke, and musculoskeletal pain. Electrodiagnostics is one of the six sub-specializations available after physical medicine and rehabilitation residency. A doctor may pursue in-depth study of pain control methods, spinal cord injury medicine, or others during a physical medicine and rehabilitation fellowship.
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Many in the field also sub-specialize in areas of amputee care, musculoskeletal medicine, electro-diagnostics, traumatic brain injury, and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. Pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation focuses on the needs of young patients. A physical medicine and rehabilitation fellowship is undertaken to pursue an area of sub-specialty after the requirements of residency are fulfilled. The UCLA physical medicine and rehabilitation program and others like it graduate many doctors who go on to specialize in sports medicine and pediatric rehabilitation. Once a physical medicine and rehabilitation md has begun to practice, professional journals and conferences are a source of ongoing education.
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Many physiatrists practice in a physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic. A physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic may include several doctors and occupational therapists, speech therapists, and psychologists in one location. Physiatrists can assist one another with professional development in such settings. The archives physical medicine and rehabilitation journals have set up on-line are another professional resource. A physical medicine and rehabilitation journal is a magazine of peer-reviewed case and research studies providing insight into recent developments in the field. Reading and publishing in a physical medicine and rehabilitation journal is one way to keep current in a rapidly changing field. |
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