What is a Physiatrist?

A physiatrist (fizz ee at’ trist) is a physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Established as a medical specialty in the 1940s, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is a discipline primarily concerned with acute and chronic problems of the neuromusculoskeletal system. The goal of the physiatrist is to restore function and relieve pain in patients with a variety of disorders using a non-surgical multidisciplinary treatment approach.

To become a physiatrist, individuals must successfully complete four years of graduate medical education and four additional years of postdoctoral residency training. Residency training includes one year spent developing fundamental medical or surgical clinical skills and three additional years of dedicated training in the full scope of the specialty.

There are currently 79 accredited residency programs in physical medicine and rehabilitation in the United States. Many physiatrists choose to pursue additional fellowship training in a specific area of the specialty. Fellowships are now available for specialized study in areas such as spine and musculoskeletal rehabilitation, pediatrics, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and sports medicine. To become board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, physiatrists are required to pass both a written and oral examination administered by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPM&R).

Physiatrists may see a person who lifts a heavy object at work and experiences back pain, a basketball player who sprains an ankle and needs rehabilitation to play again, or a knitter who has carpal tunnel syndrome. Physiatrists’ patients include people with arthritis, tendonitis, any kind of spinal pain, and work- or sports-related injuries. They are trained to perform electrodiagnostic studies in the evaluation of patients with disorders of the nervous or musculoskeletal systems. In addition, a select group of physiatrists have been fellowship trained to perform interventional spinal procedures utilizing fluoroscopic guidance.

Doctors who specialize in physiatry may practice in rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and in private offices. They can have broad practices, but many, like the physicians of Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, P.C., choose to concentrate on a particular area of care such as spine and musculoskeletal medicine.

Thus, appropriately trained physiatrists such as Dr. Lipetz and Dr. Beer are uniquely qualified to diagnose and manage spinal and musculoskeletal conditions utilizing a comprehensive non-surgical treatment approach.

Learn more about physiatry at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

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