Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, or Physiatry, is a specialty of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of aches and pains and other disabling conditions. Board-certified physiatrists must complete, in addition to medical school, a four year residency program. This training develops skills in the areas of orthopedics, neurology, and rheumatology. This places the physiatrist in an advantageous position to decide upon the cause of a patient's symptoms: nerve, muscle, joint, bone, ligament, etc. In addition to the conventional use of medications, we have expertise in the use of modalities (hydrotherapy, ultrasound, transcuataneous electric nerve stimulation, etc.), exercise programs, manual techniques, equipment (splints, corsets, braces), and coordination of therapy programs.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation do not perform surgery. They may supplement the standard history of physical examination and further evaluate neuromuscular function with the use of electrodiagnostic medicine evaluation, such as electromyography (EMG), nerve conduction studies (NCS), and Evoked Potentials (EP).