| Overview of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation (PM&R)
What is PM&R?
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as
physiatry, is a medical specialty that involves the process of restoring
function for a person who has been disabled as a result of a disease,
disorder, or injury.
The word physiatry comes from the two Greek words:
physikos - meaning physical
iatreia - meaning the art of healing
Physiatry provides integrated, multidisciplinary care aimed at recovery
of the whole person - by addressing the individual's physical, emotional,
medical, vocational, and social needs. A physician who specializes in
physical medicine and rehabilitation is called a physiatrist.
What is rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation is the process of helping an individual achieve
the highest level of function, independence, and quality of life possible.
Rehabilitation does not reverse or undo the damage caused by disease or
trauma, but rather helps restore the individual to optimal health,
functioning, and well-being. Rehabilitate (from the Latin “habilitas”)
means to make able.
| The Goal of Rehabilitation
The purpose of rehabilitation is to help the patient reach the
highest level of function by preventing complications, reducing
disability, and improving independence.
|
The rehabilitation program:
Rehabilitation medicine is designed to meet each person’s specific
needs; therefore, each program is different. Some general treatment components
for rehabilitation programs include the following:
- treating the basic disease and preventing complications
- treating the disability and improving function
- providing adaptive tools and altering the environment
- teaching the patient and family and helping them adapt to lifestyle
changes
The success of rehabilitation depends on many variables, including the
following:
- the nature and severity of the disease, disorder, or injury
- the type and degree of any resulting impairments and disabilities
- the overall health of the patient
- family support
Areas covered in rehabilitation programs may include the following:
|
Patient need: |
Example: |
|
Self-care skills, including activities
of daily living (ADLs) |
Feeding, grooming, bathing, dressing,
toileting, and sexual function |
|
Physical care |
Nutritional needs, medication, and skin care |
|
Mobility skills |
Walking, transfers, and self-propelling
a wheelchair |
|
Respiratory care |
Ventilator care, if needed; breathing
treatments and exercises to promote lung function |
|
Communication skills |
Speech, writing, and alternative
methods of communication |
|
Cognitive skills |
Memory, concentration, judgment,
problem solving, and organizational skills |
|
Socialization skills |
Interacting with others at home and
within the community |
|
Vocational training |
Work-related skills |
|
Pain management |
Medications and alternative methods of
managing pain |
|
Psychological counseling |
Identifying problems and solutions with
thinking, behavioral, and emotional issues |
|
Family support |
Assistance with adapting to lifestyle
changes, financial concerns, and discharge planning |
|
Education |
Patient and family education and
training about the condition, medical care, and adaptive techniques |
Understanding rehabilitation terminology:
Rehabilitation is needed when a disease and injury causes an
impairment. Consider the following:
- An impairment is a loss of normal function of part of the
body, such as paralysis of a leg.
- Disability occurs when a person is not able to perform an
activity in a normal way as a result of an impairment, such as not
being able to walk.
- A handicap occurs when there are limits that prevent a person
with a disability from performing a role that is normal for that
person, such as not being able to work. A handicap refers to a barrier
that may be imposed by society, the environment, or by one’s own
attitude.
Most people with disabilities are not considered handicapped - they
go to school, work, perform family duties, and interact with society fully
and capably.
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