Musculoskeletal Disorders

Knee pain is the presenting symptom for ~5% of primary care visits. Following are highlight of a JAMA review covering the 3 most common etiologies.

Physiatrist Dr Espiritu McKay works closely with primary care clinicians in getting performing artists back to work and stresses that early referral can make a big difference.

The injured dancer needs to perform on closing night; the physiatrist may need to securely tape an ankle in exchange for a promise that this performance will be the last for a while.

Tracy Espiritu McKay, DO, a former musical theater performer, can almost feel her patient's pain. She highlights treatment challenges and says early referral after injury is key.

Physiatrist Saloni Sharma, MD, stresses the essential role of coordinated, multidisciplinary care for a person with neuropathic pain—and any person with limited function.

According to physical medicine and rehabilitation physician Saloni Sharma, MD, treatment for neuropathic pain draws on PM&R's many strengths.

Collaboration among care team members is a key ingredient to effective support for children with disabilities and this specialist says her welcome mat is out for her neighbors.

For a child with disabilities, the family system is the primary mechanism that supports all forward momentum and growth, says pediatric rehabilitation doctor Amy Houtrow, MD, PHD, MPH.

Pediatric rehabilitation doctors are specialists at a premium in the US; Dr Amy Houtrow talks with Patient Care about how they reach beyond geographic barriers.

The goal of a PM&R physician is to identify the source of function-limiting pain and then develop the best plan for each patient to return them to their lives.

Amy Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, considers the impact of poverty on childhood disability and talks about opportunities to breach barriers to health care access.

Renowned pediatric rehabilitation physician Amy Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, highlights the scope of the specialty and its core objectives.

How can a nearby physiatrist help your patient with hypertension? If comorbid arthritis has the person couchbound, a consult and some PT could go a long way.

The patient with neck pain might be better off referred to a physiatrist for additional evaluation and possibly treatment, according to PM&R physician Atul Patel, MD.

A member of the board of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation highlights the breadth of his practice.

The man in his early 70s complains of leg pain lasting a month and of arm pain that came on about 1 week ago. Does the x-ray offer a clue to a diagnosis?

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Three key drivers of the perennial increase in OA prevalence are population growth, aging, and obesity, said authors of the analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study.

His relationship with primary care physicians is one of the most important, says physiatrist DJ Kennedy, MD, and he lists the reasons in this interview.

Physiatrist DJ Kennedy, MD, is excited by the potential for new, and even existing technology, to present novel options for diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment.

When is a primary care patient with back pain ready for referral to PM&R? No formulas available but basic principles hold true and earlier is always better.

Recurrent back pain is common, so teaching patients how to stay strong and flexible—and also when to get help—is essential, says Vanderbilt physiatrist DJ Kennedy, MD.

The challenge posed by a complaint of back pain is not that the origin is unknowable but rather the remarkable heterogeneity in this condition, says the president-elect of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

Primary care clinicians will need to be particularly alert for signs of long COVID in older patients as some signs and symptoms may be easily attributed to the aging process.

For older adults who feel limited by physical changes associated with aging, physiatry can help maintain strength and flexibility along a continuum of primary care.

A Feinberg School of Medicine physiatrist with long experience assessing long COVID talks specifically about common neurologic sequelae of the infection.

Symptoms of long COVID were apparent by the summer of 2020, said physiatrist Dr Leslie Rydberg, coauthor of new consensus guidelines on management of neurologic sequelae.

At the 2023 American Thoracic Society International Conference a symposium focused on common comorbidities seen with COPD, their management, and research needs.

A recent CDC report showed that approximately 20% of Americans experienced chronic pain in 2021 and certain groups were most vulnerable. Details in our new slideshow.

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