The physiatrists at Hospital for Special Surgery perform non-operative treatment procedures on patients who have spinal and sports-related injuries as well as other musculoskeletal problems. These procedures are combined with medically supervised exercise therapies to restore mobility and function in patients who might otherwise require surgery.
Several members of the Department of Physiatry also perform electrodiagnostic studies such as nerve conduction and electromyography. These diagnostic studies help to determine whether patients may have nerve or muscular disorders such as lumbar or cervical radiculopathy, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other debilitating conditions.
The Department is not only involved with the development of new non-invasive procedures, it also employs innovative research techniques to better understand and validate many non-operative or minimally invasive interventional procedures to treat spinal and sports-related injuries.
What do physiatrists do?
Physiatrists specialize in non-surgical physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) for patients who have been disabled as a result of a disease, condition, disorder, or injury. They diagnose, perform thorough patient histories, treat injuries and conditions, and direct your expanded treatment team using non-surgical methods.
Physiatrists focus on a personalized method of treatment to improve their patients' quality of life -- one that involves a comprehensive approach to expand the framework of resources at a patient's disposal. As a result, a patient's recuperation involves every aspect of their lives
What kind of training do physiatrists require?
Physiatrists train for four years in medical school, followed by a one-year internship and three years of hospital residency with a specialization in physiatry. The board certified physiatrists at HSS have also received advanced degrees and fellowships in several areas of musculoskeletal specialization.
How do physiatrists diagnose?
While other specialties use similar diagnostic tools, physiatry employs the additional use of electrodiagnostic medicine in order to detect areas of nerve and muscle damage. This includes electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies, which are used to measure the condition of your nerves and muscles in their relaxed and stimulated states.
What types of conditions do physiatrists treat?
Physiatrists treat a wide scope of cases - from brain and spinal cord injuries to stroke and burn victims - but the physiatrists at HSS have been specially trained and certified to help patients who have spine and sports injuries as well as other musculoskeletal problems.
What is the physiatrist's role in treatment?
Physiatrists direct a comprehensive rehabilitation team of professionals that may include physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, rehabilitation nurses, psychologists, social workers, and others.
At HSS, physiatrists also perform several minimally invasive procedures such as IDET, nucleoplasty, radiofrequency ablation, fluoroscopic injection procedures, and shoulder and knee lavage. They combine these treatments with medically supervised exercise therapies, as well as medication and orthotics, to restore mobility and function - all without the need for surgery. In addition, several of the HSS physiatrists have special areas of specialization, such as limb lengthening and osteoporosis, which enable them to uniquely handle these specialized medical conditions from a comprehensive, multidisciplinary standpoint.
How long has physiatry been a recognized specialty?
Although physiatrists have been practicing PM&R for over seventy years, their abilities became widely known and utilized during the years of World War II, when many soldiers returned from the war with serious musculoskeletal disabilities. Recognizing the unique benefits of their specialty, the Advisory Board of Medical Specialties approved PM&R as a specialty of medicine in 1947.
The Department provides over 30,000 ambulatory care visits a year, including approximately 3,900 minimally invasive procedures and 1,100 EMG/NCV studies, attending over 17,500 returning patients and 7,500 new patients each year.
The following is a partial list of procedures performed by physiatrists at HSS:
The Department provides a one-year Spine and Sports Medicine Fellowship, with two fellows accepted each year. This fellowship program focuses on the improvement of skills in the areas of diagnosis and treatment using a comprehensive approach, including including interventional spine procedures (cervical and lumbar), diagnostic and interventional ultrasound, electrodiagnostics, regenerative medicine and concussion management.
The Department also takes part in the training of Columbia University and Cornell University's residents from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program, and is involved in the education of medical students from Weill Cornell Medicine.