About Us

For more than 40 years, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) specialists at the UC Irvine Health School of Medicine have helped restore movement and function to people disabled by diseases or injury

Physical Medicine doctors -- called physiatrists -- provide compassionate inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation care that considers the needs, abilities and objectives of each patient.

Physicians practicing in the Acute Rehabilitation Unit at UC Irvine Medical Center frequently treat very serious disorders, which can cause extreme functional limitations. An interdisciplinary approach to treatment ensures that all aspects of necessary care are provided by the following:

• Rehabilitation nurses
• Physical therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech therapists
• Social workers
• Neuropsychologists
• Case managers

The field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, most often abbreviated as PM&R, began in the 1930s to address musculoskeletal and neurological problems, but broadened its scope considerably as a response to the needs of thousands of veterans returning from World War II with serious disabilities. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was approved by the Advisory Board of Medical Specialists as a specialty of medicine in 1947.

The physicians who specialize in PM&R treat a multitude of musculoskeletal and neurological problems with the goal of restoring optimal function. They utilizemany approaches, including:

• Medications
• Assistive devices
• Hot and cold therapies
• Electrotherapies
• Massage
• Biofeedback
• Electrodiagnostics
• Therapeutic exercise