Overview of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMandR)

What is physical medicine and rehabilitation?

Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) is also called physiatry. It's a medical area that helps a person function when they are disabled due to a health problem or injury.

Rehab helps the whole person. It looks at physical, emotional, health, work, and social needs. A rehab doctor is called a physiatrist.

Physical therapist working with woman on arm stretches.

What is rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation (rehab) helps a person reach the best level of function, independence, and quality of life possible. Rehab does not reverse the damage caused by disease or injury. But it helps a person be at their best in function and well-being.

The rehabilitation program

Rehab medicine is designed to meet each person's needs. So each program is different. In general, rehab programs:

Treat the disease and prevent complications.
Treat the disability and improve function.
Provide adaptive tools and change the environment.
Help the person and their family adapt to lifestyle changes.

The success of rehab depends on many things, including:

The type of health problem or injury and how severe it is.
The type and degree of disability.
The person's overall health.
Family support.

Areas covered in rehab programs may include:

Patient need	Example
Self-care skills, including activities of daily living (ADLs)	Feeding, grooming, bathing, dressing, toileting, and sexual function
Physical care	Nutritional needs, medicine, and skin care
Mobility skills	Walking, transfers, and self-propelling a wheelchair
Respiratory care	Ventilator care, if needed; breathing treatments and exercises to help lung function
Communication skills	Speech, writing, and other ways to communicate
Cognitive skills	Memory, focus, judgment, problem-solving, and organizational skills
Socialization skills	Interacting with others at home and in the community
Vocational training	Work-related skills
Pain management	Medicine and other ways to manage pain
Psychological counseling	Noting problems and finding solutions for thinking, behavioral, and emotional issues
Family support	Help with adapting to lifestyle changes, money concerns, and discharge planning
Education	Patient and family education and training about the condition, medical care, and ways to adapt

Understanding rehabilitation terminology

Rehab is needed when a disease and injury cause an impairment:

An impairment is a loss of normal function of part of the body, such as paralysis of a leg.
Disability occurs when a person can't do an activity in a normal way due to an impairment, such as not being able to walk.
A handicap occurs when there are limits that prevent a person with a disability from doing their normal roles, such as not being able to work. A handicap refers to a barrier that may be imposed by society, the environment, or the person'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.

Online Medical Reviewer: Raymond Kent Turley BSN MSN RN
Online Medical Reviewer: Robert Hurd MD

Date Last Reviewed: 7/1/2023