And the things we ve always taken for granted like breathing, walking, eating and taking care of ourselves become seemingly insurmountable tasks. Dealing effectively with these medical challenges involves the expertise of physiatrists. Physiatrists are physicians who specialize in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and are trained to diagnose, treat, and direct a rehabilitation plan that provides the best possible outcomes for these patients. Physiatry not only employs the usual tools of medicine, but also uses physical agents and therapeutic exercise in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that produce pain, impairment and disability. Nationwide there has been a rise in demand for rehabilitation services, brought on by an increasingly aging population and improved survival rates after disease and injuries due to advancing medical care and technology.
Patients also seek treatment from physiatrists for musculoskeletal pain syndromes.
From the temporarily injured to the severely impaired, patients are increasingly turning to the diagnostic and treatment expertise of the physiatrist. The specialty is growing rapidly, and the number of resident physicians has doubled in the last decade. Despite this growth, physiatry is one of the few medical specialties in which there is a relative shortage. Physiatrists are specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of patients of all ages in three major areas of medical care. These procedures are used for evaluation of various neurologic disorders.