physical medicine and rehabilitation

Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as physiatry, and outside the United States as physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM), is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. Officially established in the United States in the mid-1900s, PM&R has played a major role in patient recovery following several major epidemics and both world wars. Common medical conditions treated by PM&R physicians include spinal cord injury, brain injury, musculoskeletal injury, stroke, pain, and spasticity from muscle, ligament, or nerve damage. PM&R physicians lead rehabilitation teams in inpatient and outpatient settings and are trained in medication management, electrodiagnosis, and targeted injections. A physician having completed training in this field may be referred to as a physiatrist.

Scope of the field