Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Your Questions, Answered

Maintaining a healthy body has been a priority for everybody over the last year. You probably adopted new sanitation practices or learned quick exercise routines to keep your body healthy and functional in these trying times.

So you already know the importance of listening to what your body needs, especially when it comes to physical discomfort. Ignoring body pains only serve to worsen your health, making you more vulnerable to long-term diseases and other medical conditions.

For these reasons, you should definitely integrate physical medicine and rehabilitation into your overall health routine this year. If you’re experiencing bodily pains right now, then you’ll benefit from physical wellness and rehabilitation services that provide you amazing healthcare solutions and patient-centered wellness experiences. After all, The Hospital at Maayo’s medical services in Cebu will always put you first.

Do you want to maintain a healthy body and achieve holistic wellness this year? Take a look at this comprehensive guide on the benefits of physical medicine and rehabilitation, before booking that appointment for your wellbeing.

What is Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation?

Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) is a medical specialty that focuses on rehabilitating a patient’s bodily functions. These regular body functions are often damaged or lost due to injuries, disease, pre-existing medical conditions, or even other causes like poor work environments and sudden lifestyle changes.

PM&R actually refers to the services of an entire multidisciplinary medical team, and not just a few attending physiatrists or physicians. The physical rehabilitation services involved in PM&R aim to integrate different aspects of physical medicine rehabilitation to ensure a patient’s health and physical recovery.

Overall, the goal of this specialty is to help you achieve holistic wellness. Using comprehensive and integrated healthcare solutions, your PM&R team will help you recover, improve, and sustain a functional body for your everyday life.

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What are the different types of PM&R?

The multidisciplinary nature of PM&R means that you’ll have access to several kinds of healthcare providers for your individual needs. The different types of this medical specialty include, but are not limited to:

• Physiatry;
• Physical therapy (PT);
• Musculoskeletal PT and medicine;
• Orthopedics;
• Neurophysiology;
• General rehabilitation;
• Sports medicine, and;
• Outpatient PT.

The right healthcare providers will offer you several approaches to serve your specific needs. You may undergo land-based rehabilitation exercises, special aquatic treatments, and many other unique practices. Whichever type of PM&R you encounter, know that these procedures are geared towards helping you achieve a well-balanced life.

What are the signs that you need a PM&R guide?

If you haven’t gone for your executive check-up yet this year, then you might not even know that you already need PM&R. You should definitely seek treatment from your local PM&R facility if you’re currently experiencing any of the following:

• Chronic neck pain;
• Chronic back pain;
• Chronic body pain;
• Chronic pain from arthritis;
• Pain or limited functional capabilities due to a current or past injury;
• Limited functional capabilities due to severe illness, disability, or pre-existing medical conditions;
• Limited functional capabilities due to nerve damage or a past stroke, or;
• Limited functional capabilities due to surgery recovery.

There’s no harm in asking for help when you’re in pain. Anybody who’s ever had an injury, surgery, or medical condition has definitely gone through a medicine and rehabilitation journey before too. PM&R is essential to the promotion of your own physical health and your meaningful lifelong comfort.

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How do PM&R physicians diagnose patients?

Nowadays, physicians can execute excellent online consultations for patients who can’t make it to hospitals or nearby clinics. But generally, PM&R physicians and physiatrists use highly specialized diagnostic tools to understand and address your current condition. Here are some of the ways physiatrists diagnose your medical conditions:

• Physical exams;
• Analyzing medical histories;
• Imaging studies;
• Nerve conduction studies, and;
• Electrodiagnostic medicine.

A multidisciplinary PM&R team will use your information to identify any illnesses you may have to create a treatment plan that is catered to your needs. For example, a physiatrist may work with a physical therapist to prescribe medication and manage an exercise program that will help you recover your functional body.

What are common PM&R practices?

PM&R is highly individualized, with plans and programs designed to fit your exact needs. However, since this specialty is offered in many different healthcare facilities, there are some common rehabilitation practices that you may observe in PM&R. Some common PM&R practices include, but are not limited to:

• Physiatric evaluation and assessment;
• PT exercises;
• Prescribing pain medication;
• PT land treatment;
• PT aquatic treatment;
• Specialized aquatic treatment (Aqua Pi Yo Chi, Burdenko, Bad Ragas Ring, Halliwick, Watsu, or Waterdances);
• Prosthetics or orthotics;
• Interventional spinal therapeutics, and;
• Spasticity management.

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How do you choose a PM&R facility?

Your medicine and rehabilitation journey is geared towards your recovery as a functional individual. This means that you deserve PM&R services that focus on excellent planning and patient-centered wellness experiences.

Choose a PM&R facility that provides comprehensive and integrated healthcare solutions for all your medical needs. Your PM&R unit should have state-of-the-art facilities that cater to your needs in a relaxing, accommodating, and patient-friendly environment.

By investing in a trusted local medical facility, you can recover, improve, and thrive in all aspects of your life. Your holistic wellness journey begins when you devote time towards your health, not just physically, but socially and emotionally as well.

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Stay healthy and active by integrating PM&R into your everyday life this year. You can find fantastic world-class health providers when you check out The Hospital at Maayo and its excellent roster of medical services.

Knowing the amazing benefits of PM&R, don’t forget to set an appointment with this modern outpatient clinic unit too. Start your journey towards recovery, healing, and holistic wellness with The Hospital at Maayo today.