5 Facts about Physiatrists
Physiatry is a term for physical medicine and rehabilitation. This process is used to help people recover and recuperate after physical injuries. The physiatrist is a healthcare professional who is specially trained in getting you back on your feet and rehabilitating your body following injury.
The knowledge they can apply not only gets your bones, muscles and joints back in shape, they can apply it to help reduce your pain as well through advanced diagnostics and medical techniques. Here are a few facts about physiatrists, what they do and how they can help your road to recovery.
A Vital Role
Physiatrists play a vital role in treating disabilities that result from illness or injury. They are trained in a variety of disciplines which can include several or all of the following, among others:
- Orthopedics
- Neurology
- Rheumatology
- Pain Management
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
This training makes the physiatrist adept in a broad variety of disciplines—a very helpful professional to have in your corner while you work on getting well again!
The Big Picture
The physiatrist is a big picture person. They have one goal: to see you back to normal again. To that end, they will do whatever it takes to get you there. They seek to restore physical function to bones, muscles, joints and nerves as close to their original functionality as possible. Whether you’ve suffered a stroke, a knee injury, back pain or muscle stiffness, these men and women can help. They not only see the big picture, they take a whole-body approach to recovery and can help you see things the same way.
Teamwork
These healthcare professionals work with a team of practitioners to create and implement a detailed treatment plan. This team can include physical therapists, speech pathologists, vocational counselors and others to be sure that you are under the best care for every aspect of your illness or injury. Their approach to healing covers physical, mental and emotional recovery.
No Surgery
In general, while you will receive pain medications, injections, exercise routines and possibly assistive devices as needed, you likely will not undergo surgery under the care of a physiatrist. While there are always exceptions to every rule, the rehabilitative approach to medicine taken by these men and women prefer a more conservative approach that involves a low risk of complications.
Tailored Treatment Plans
Physiatrists do not adopt a “one size fits all” approach to recovery. Rather, they take all aspects of an individual patient’s condition into account when creating a treatment plan. This means that the plan of action will be custom tailored specifically to your needs. A teen’s knee injury from playing baseball and a fifty-year-old’s knee injury from construction work are both knee injuries, but that’s where the similarity ends — and a physiatrist know that. Individualized treatment is where they excel.
Have you suffered an injury and think physiatry might be a good approach for you? If you live in the Las Vegas area, check out Complete Injury Management’s Physiatry page for more information and give us a call for a free consultation today!
