Physiatry
Physiatrists are also known as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctors in New York City. If you were once injured in a car accident and chronic experience pain as a result, it might be helpful for you to see a physiatrist, especially for a condition that is musculoskeletal or neurological.
No-Fault provides physiatrists with years of experience when it comes to car accidents, sports injuries, medicine, and rehabilitation, in the New York area. Don’t hesitate by not contacting us today with any questions or by scheduling an appointment today!
What Happens at the First Appointment?
Rather than just treating the body area that is symptomatic, physiatry doctors focus on the whole body see a physiatrist. The goal of the initial evaluation is to gather as much information as possible about your condition to formulate a treatment plan. You can expect the following from your first appointment:
Diagnostics
Determining the root cause of your problem helps a PMR doctor formulate a treatment plan. Depending on the nature of your complaint, diagnostics may include electromyography, nerve conduction studies, or X-rays.
Medical History
Your physiatry doctor will probably spend some time going over your personal and family medical history with you. This helps to identify the cause of the problem and any other underlying issues that treatment may involve.
Goals
Your physiatry doctor will ask you what you want to achieve from treatment. Your goals may include things such as improved function or reduced pain.
PMR treatment is exceptionally personalized. Your physiatry doctor uses all the information they can gather about your condition to devise an individual treatment plan for you.
What Are the Areas of Focus in Physiatry?
There are several areas of focus within the practice of physiatry. The direction that your PMR doctor uses for your treatment plan depends on the cause of your pain.
Postoperative Care
If you had to have a limb surgically amputated due to a car accident injury, you might see a physiatry doctor for treatment to help you recover from surgery.
Musculoskeletal Care
If you experience back pain or sacroiliac dysfunction due to the accident, you may benefit from musculoskeletal care from a physiatry doctor.
Sports Injuries
Certain types of injuries, such as acromioclavicular separation or rotator cuff pathology, are referred to as sports injuries even if they didn’t result from athletics but trauma such as a motor vehicle accident.
Chronic Pain Management
This involves prescribing medications for the relief of ongoing pain from car accident injuries.
Neurorehabilitation
If you experienced a traumatic injury to the brain or spinal cord in the accident, neurorehabilitation could help treat any pain or mobility issues that resulted from it.
What Do Physiatry Doctors Do for You?
A physiatry doctor can perform a range of treatments to diagnose and treat your pain:
- Biopsies
- Image-guided spinal diagnostics
- Musculoskeletal ultrasound
- Trigger point injections
However, physiatrists do not work in a vacuum. Instead, a PMR doctor attempts to optimize your care by assembling an entire team to participate in your treatment with pain medicine. Depending on the nature of your condition, the members of your treatment team may vary. Your primary care physician will almost certainly be involved, and other team members may include an orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist.
No-Fault Doctors can help you find a physiatrist in New York City, NY, and New Jersey. Contact us today!