The Specialty of Physiatry

A Physiatrist is a Physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R).  Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic’s Physiatrists provide non-surgical orthopaedic care of injuries and disorders of muscles, nerves and joints including the spine.  The focus of Physiatry (PM&R) is restoring function to patients and improving their “quality of life”. 

Physiatrists can evaluate and treat almost every type of patient problem typically referred to the orthopaedic surgeon, except fractures and obvious surgical cases.  If a fracture is diagnosed or surgery does become necessary, timely appropriate referral to one of the orthopaedic surgeons can be made.

Physiatrists utilize special diagnostic tools such as electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS), which assess damage to the muscles and nerves.  These special studies help the Physiatrist diagnose conditions which cause numbness, pain and weakness such as carpal tunnel syndrome and cervical, thoracic, and lumbar radiculopathy – in laymen’s terms, a pinched nerve in the neck or back.  Physiatrists also perform epidural steroid and other injections to treat sciatica, lumbar radiculopathy and spinal stenosis.  They do this under fluoroscopy for added safety.  Botulinum Toxin (Botox) injections are performed to treat spasticity and pain.

Scope of Service

• Non-surgical management of injuries and disorders of muscles, nerves and joints including the spine

• Electrodiagnostic studies including Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS)

• Epidural steroid injections and other spine and hip injections performed under fluoroscopy

• Botox injections for spasticity and pain

Ancillary Services:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

• Orthotics & Pedorthics

• Physical Therapy

• Radiology (X-ray)