Specialties & Services

Physical Medicine and Physical Therapy

Don’t let pain hold you back from living life to the fullest. Physical medicine and physical therapy services can help you get much-needed relief. We are a regional leader offering a broad range of therapies, so you have the best chances for healing.

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Why choose us for physical medicine and physical therapy?

BJC HealthCare works with WashU Medicine physicians, BJC Medical Group, and providers across the region to deliver extraordinary care. Our team includes trusted physical medicine doctors (physiatrists), physical therapists, and rehabilitation specialists. Whether you want to resume your sport, return to work, or keep up with household tasks, we can help you. We offer:

  • Connected services: We collaborate with all the specialists you are seeing to ensure a seamless care experience. Our extended team includes orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine doctors, and human performance experts. We coordinate details like assessment findings and treatment plans that lead to exceptional outcomes.
  • Extraordinary care: You benefit from one-on-one therapy sessions. We work closely with you, helping you make steady progress toward your goals. This approach helps us successfully treat some of the region’s most complex cases.
  • Holistic approach: Care often starts with a physiatry evaluation where we consider all possible causes for your symptoms. For example, back pain may be due to weak muscles in another area of the body. Our depth of experience enables us to make an accurate diagnosis.
  • Innovative assessments: You have access to sophisticated evaluations that are only available in select programs such as ours. These include strength and balance testing and video motion analysis. They provide precise measurements and other data that help us determine your needs and treatment response.
  • Total coverage: Our physiatrists specialize in a wide array of problems affecting the musculoskeletal system, including: elbow and shoulder conditions, foot and ankle issues, hand and wrist pain, hip and knee conditions, orthopedic trauma, and sports injuries.

What is physical medicine and physical therapy?

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.

Search for a specialist

Our highly trained team of specialists offers advanced treatments as well as compassionate, personalized care.

Physical medicine and physical therapy testing and treatments

Physiatrists and physical therapists deliver a broad range of services, making it easier to meet your medical needs and personal preferences. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures include:

Electromyogram (EMG)

 This test measures electrical activity in muscles and nerves. It helps evaluate symptoms such as numbness, tingling, reduced sensation, and weakness.

Strength and balance testing

 You stand on a platform that tilts in different directions. Special technology measures muscle and joint movements while you maintain your balance.

Video motion analysis

 We use high-speed cameras and special technology to assess movement and posture while you walk, cycle, throw, swing, or run.

Acupuncture

 Physiatrists insert tiny needles into specific areas at different depths to stimulate natural pain-relieving chemicals in the body.

Aquatic therapy

 Doing exercises in water takes pressure off painful joints so you can get moving earlier in your recovery.

Custom splints and adaptive devices

 These devices fit the unique shape of your body. They hold the affected area in a position that provides support and relieves strain.

Hand therapy

 Therapists specializing in upper extremity issues guide you through treatments, including special exercises to ease discomfort.

Therapeutic injections

 We inject drugs or other substances directly into your area of concern, which can speed healing. Real-time imaging helps deliver them with precision.

Therapeutic massage

 Licensed massage therapists help loosen stiff tissue, which increases blood flow to injured areas and promotes healing.

Locations near you.